Nova Laser, Copyright, LLNL/Science
Source/Photo Researchers, Inc. |
|
Gordon Gould wanted to be an inventor from a very early age, and he
ended up producing a very important optical device that is used in everything from CD
players to medical equipment, the laser. One night the idea of the L.A.S.E.R struck him:
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation", now called a laser. Two
days later Gould had designed a device that he estimated would superheat a substance in a
millisecond. Gould abandoned his university course and began building a prototype,
unfortunatly getting a patent was a long process, and it took until 1977 when he won a
legal battle for him to achieve his first patent for the laser. |
