Billings C.W., Tabak J. Lasers: The Technology and Uses of Crafted Light

Facts On File, Inc., 2006. XIV, 162 p. — ISBN: 0-8160-4784-7.Designed to give readers a sense of wonder through its recounting of the development of lasers and the ways in which they are used, Lasers, New Edition shows how the scientists and engineers who invented lasers created them as a means of pursuing a scientific theory and then had to figure out what to do with them.
Completely current, this new edition features updated information on many topics, along with five new chapters. Leading students and general readers through the amazing complexities of the world of lasers, this volume answers basic questions about the science and technology of lasers, as well as modern uses in medicine, industry, research, communications, and the military. Additionally, it examines how and why lasers have been used as substitutes for other tools, and it offers a look at the business of laser development.
Five new chapters include:
Giving Light a Workout
Illuminating Science Anew
The New Power Tools
Lasers and Modern Life
Beyond the Miracle.The Nature of LightThe Wave Nature of Light
The Particle Nature of LightThe Nature of Laser LightMonochromatic Light
Coherence
The Concept of Laser Power and EfficiencyCreating Laser LightStimulated Emission
The Laser Beam
The Ruby LaserThe Early History of LasersWho Invented the Laser?
A Great Variety of LasersLasers and MedicineMatching the Laser to the
Medical Application
Cutting Flesh
Eye Surgery
Tattoo RemovalLasers in IndustryMatching the Laser to the
Industrial Application
Cutting Metal and Drilling Diamonds
Cutting Cloth
Laser WeldingLasers in CommunicationBell’s Great Invention
Modulating the Laser
Fiber OpticsReading and Writing with LasersUPCs
CDs and DVDs
Laser PrintersLasers as Measurement DevicesLasers as Surveying Tools
Lasers in Earth Science
Lasers in AstronomyHolography, Art, and Science in Three DimensionsMore on the Nature of Light
Creating a Hologram
Properties of HologramsIlluminating the InvisibleOptical Microscopes and Lasers
Spectrometers
PrefixesFurther Reading
World Wide Web Sites