Stimulated emissionStimulated emission is the process by which an incoming photon of a specific frequency can interact with an excited atomic electron (or other excited molecular state), causing it to drop to a lower energy level. The liberated energy transfers to the electromagnetic field, creating a new photon with a frequency, polarization, and direction of travel that are all identical to the photons of the incident wave.
Alexander ProkhorovAlexander Mikhailovich Prokhorov (born Alexander Michael Prochoroff; Russian: Александр Михайлович Прохоров; 11 July 1916 – 8 January 2002) was an Australian-born Soviet physicist and researcher whose work focused on quantum electronics. His most famous and well-known works were on optics and electromagnetic research.
MicrowaveMicrowave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz, broadly construed. A more common definition in radio-frequency engineering is the range between 1 and 100 GHz (wavelengths between 30 cm and 3 mm), or between 1 and 3000 GHz (30 cm and 0.1 mm).
Nikolay BasovNikolay Gennadiyevich Basov (Russian: Николай Геннадиевич Басов; 14 December 1922 – 1 July 2001) was a Soviet physicist and educator. For his fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics that led to the development of laser and maser, Basov shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics with Alexander Prokhorov and Charles Hard Townes.
Joseph WeberJoseph Weber (May 17, 1919 – September 30, 2000) was an American physicist. He gave the earliest public lecture on the principles behind the laser and the maser and developed the first gravitational wave detectors, known as Weber bars. Early lifeJoseph Weber was born in Paterson, New Jersey, on 17 May 1919, the last of four children born to Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrant parents. His name was "Yonah" until he entered grammar school.
Charles H. TownesCharles Hard Townes (July 28, 1915 – January 27, 2015) was an American physicist. Townes worked on the theory and application of the maser, for which he obtained the fundamental patent, and other work in quantum electronics associated with both maser and laser devices. He shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics with Nikolay Basov and Alexander Prokhorov. Townes was an adviser to the U.S. Government, meeting every President from Harry S. Truman (1945) to Bill Clinton (1999).
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a private Ivy League research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1754 as King's College by royal charter under George II of Great Britain on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhattan, it is the oldest institution of higher education in New York and the fifth-oldest in the United States.
James P. GordonJames Power Gordon (March 20, 1928 – June 21, 2013) was an American physicist known for his work in the fields of optics and quantum electronics.
Coherence (physics)In physics, coherence expresses the potential for two waves to interfere. Two monochromatic beams from a single source always interfere. Even for wave sources that are not strictly monochromatic, they may still be partly coherent.
Nobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901, the others being the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Electromagnetic radiationPhysical model of propagating energyA linearly polarized electromagnetic wave going in the z-axis, with E denoting the electric field and perpendicular B denoting magnetic fieldIn physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) or an electromagnetic wave (EMW) is a self-propagating wave of the electromagnetic field that carries momentum and radiant energy through space.Herbert ZeigerHerbert J. Zeiger (b. 16 March 1925 in the Bronx, New York City, United States; d. 14 January 2011) was an American physicist and co-developer of the first maser. Zeiger graduated from the City College of New York with a bachelor's degree in 1944, and Columbia University with a master's degree in 1948 and a doctorate in 1952. From 1953 until his retirement in 1990, he conducted research at the Lincoln Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.