The Light Fantastic: An Illustrated History of Laser Development

Hello, everybody! Welcome to the Cambridge Science Festival blog. My name is Amali, and this is the first part of a three-part Tuesday series about LASERS.

I'm writing about lasers for two reasons: firstly because I like lasers, and secondly because the Cambridge Science Festival opens with a laser show on Saturday, April 24. I want you to be ready.

This week's topic: milestones in laser development.



The answer's under the cut...













In the fifty years since Theodore Maiman's first pulse of light, lasers have become ubiquitous. They read DVDs and scan barcodes. They're in your pocket laser pointer. And on April 24, they'll be lighting up the room at the Cambridge Science Festival's laser show. Mark your calendars!

What: Cambridge Science Festival Laser Show
When: Saturday, April 24, Noon
Where: Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway. Free shuttles run from the Harvard Square Red Line T stop.

Next week: how does a laser work?

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Credits for reference photos:
Einstein:Nobel Prize Foundation
Townes: Nobel Prize Foundation
Schawlow:Jose Mercado/Stanford News Service
Gould: Geoffrey Gould
Maiman: AIP Emilio Segres Visual Archives, used with permission.