NATS 1870 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Stimulated Emission, Spontaneous Emission, Carbon Dioxide Laser
19 Nov 2014
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Document Summary
The word laser was coined as an acronym for light ampli cation by the stimulated. Ordinary natural and arti cial light is released by energy changes on the atomic and molecular level that occur without any outside intervention. A second type of light exists, however, and occurs when an atom or molecule retains its excess energy until stimulated to emit the energy in the form of light. Lasers are designed to produce and amplify this stimulated form of light into intense and focused beams. The special nature of laser light has made laser technology a vital tool in nearly every aspect of everyday life including communications, entertainment, manufacturing, and medicine. Is the process by which a light source such as an atom or molecule, in an excited state, undergoes a transition to a state with a lower energy (i. e. the ground state) and emits a photon. Types of lasers: solid state: have lasing material distributed in a solid matrix.
