A Recent History of Writing And Drawing

Laser is an acronym derived from 'light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation' and describes how its beam is produced. The process which makes lasers possible, Stimulated Emission, was proposed in 1917 by Albert Einstein.

In 1954, Charles Townes and Arthur Schawlow invented the maser (microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation), using ammonia gas and microwave radiation - the maser was invented before the (optical) laser. The technology is very close but does not use a visible light. The invention of the laser can be dated to 1958 with the publication of the scientific paper, Infrared and Optical Masers, by Arthur L. Schawlow, then a Bell Labs researcher, and Charles H. Townes, a consultant to Bell Labs. That paper, published in Physical Review, the journal of the American Physical Society, launched a new scientific field and opened the door to a multibillion-dollar industry.

In the paper, Townes and Schawlow theorize about a visible laser, an invention that would use infrared and/or visible spectrum light. It wasn't until 1960 that the first true laser was created by Theodore Maimam, using a synthetic ruby. Maiman produced the first ruby laser considered to be a true optical or light laser. Although many historians claim that Theodore Maiman invented the first optical laser, there is some evidence that Gordon Gould was the first. Gordon Gould was the first person to actually use the word 'laser'. There is reason to believe that Gordon Gould made the first light laser. Gould was a doctoral student at Columbia University under Charles Townes, the inventor of the maser. Gordon Gould was inspired to build his optical laser starting in 1958. He failed to file for a patent his invention until 1959. As a result, Gordon Gould's patent was refused and his technology was exploited by others. It took until 1977 for Gordon Gould to finally win his patent war and receive his first patent for the laser.

Many ideas for laser applications quickly followed, including some that never worked, like the laser eraser. Still, the early pioneers of laser technology would be shocked and amazed to see the multitude of ways that lasers are used by everyone, everyday, in today's world.

The first gas laser (helium neon) was invented by Ali Javan.

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