The Laser is an Antique

In the United States typically something is considered an antique after 50 years, if it has been subject to rigorous use. Well this year marks the 50th anniversary for the Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation or LASER to those of us who are normal. It’s funny to think of something that has always seemed so futuristic to be an antique.

Lasers were first conceptually developed in the Bell Laboratory in the late 1950s. In 1958 Bell Labs retained a patent on the MASER (the Lasers older brother). In 1960 the Laser was first constructed at Hughes Research Laboratory. Today lasers are used for everything from telecommunications to surgery to laser light shows. But I imagine when someone says the word laser thoughts go to a laser as a weapon. They have been imbedded in our mind through science fiction as the ultimate projectile. Though laser development has changed significantly over the last 50 years the weapons are still only in their beginning stages of development. Sorry to anyone who thinks they need a laser gun.

Lasers are closely related to our industry of technology and telecom. Without lasers we would not have fiber optic cable. Without fiber optic cable, we would not have networking at high speeds for long distances. If we could not transfer data at the speeds fiber allows us we would not have VoIP. So see it all comes back around. The moral of the story is that even the future becomes old.

If anyone is interested in antique lasers you’re not going to find them in Indianapolis, but Silicon Valley’s Bob Hess has a huge selection. You can see them here: http://holography.ning.com/profile/BobHess

This was Michael Martin’s latest conversation with Bill Taylor