Laser applications

WHEN THE LASER was developed in mid‐1960, it was hailed—primarily by science writers—as the solution to problems ranging from such commonplaces as television transmission and metal drilling to science‐fiction tools like the instant death ray. This effort to glamorize the laser and portray it in terms of commercial and industrial application continues to occupy the bulk of the attention focused on it today. Such publicity is somewhat misleading, but the laser’s role as a scientific tool is now well established.

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