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Laser science or laser physics is a branch of
Laser science or laser physics is a branch of optics
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultra ...
that describes the theory and practice of laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The firs ...
s.
Laser science is principally concerned with quantum electronics, laser construction
A laser is constructed from three principal parts:
*An energy source (usually referred to as the ''pump'' or ''pump source''),
*A ''gain medium'' or ''laser medium'', and
*Two or more mirrors that form an ''optical resonator''.
Pump source
The ...
, optical cavity An optical cavity, resonating cavity or optical resonator is an arrangement of mirrors or other optical elements that forms a cavity resonator for light waves. Optical cavities are a major component of lasers, surrounding the gain medium and pro ...
design, the physics of producing a population inversion in laser media, and the temporal evolution of the light field in the laser. It is also concerned with the physics of laser beam propagation, particularly the physics of Gaussian beam
In optics, a Gaussian beam is a beam of electromagnetic radiation with high monochromaticity whose amplitude envelope in the transverse plane is given by a Gaussian function; this also implies a Gaussian intensity (irradiance) profile. Thi ...
s, with laser applications
Many scientific, military, medical and commercial laser applications have been developed since the invention of the laser in 1958. The coherency, high monochromaticity, and ability to reach extremely high powers are all properties which allow ...
, and with associated fields such as