Topic summary
Optical oscillator
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Laser.
Terminology
A laser that produces light by itself is technically an optical oscillator rather than an optical amplifier as suggested by the acronym. It has been humorously noted that the acronym LOSER, for "light oscillation by stimulated emission of radiation", would have been more correct. Some sources refer to the word laser as an anacronym, meaning an acronym so widely used as a noun that it is no longer considered an abbreviation.