1960: Physicist Theodore Maiman uses a synthetic-ruby crystal to create the first laser. Maiman began tinkering with electronic devices in his teens and even earned college money repairing appliances ...

The laser’s early years were full of scientific creativity, public-relations spin and intense rivalry. Pauline Rigby describes how a then little-known scientist became the first person to design and ...

IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more. Lasers have served as teaching tools ...

The military has been striving to build a laser powerful enough to make an effective weapon literally since the first ruby laser was demonstrated back in 1960. Now General Atomics is working with ...