Lasers (레이저)

Albert Einstein (1879-1955 ) was the first to envision the intense, powerful beams of light we know today as lasers. In 1917, he worte that if atomic particles called photons were combined and energized in a certain way, they would emit light all in the same direction and frequency―as opposed to ordinary visible light, which is very scattered. It took several decades, however, for physicists to find out exactly how to make this technique work.

 

1954 년에 James Gordon 과 Charles Townes (1915-)라는 연구원들은 콜롬비아 대학에서 전자렌지 광선들을 사용하여 최초로 "방사선의 유도 방출에 의한 마이크로파 증폭" 혹은 분자증폭기를 만들어내었다. Townes 는 계속해서 Arthur Schawlow (1921-1999 )와 함께 Bell Labs 에서 원하는 파장의 광자가 앞뒤로 튀어나올 수 있도록 그 공동의 양쪽에 거울이 있는 프로토 타입의 장치에 대해 연구했다. 4년 후에 light maser 혹은 레이저에 대한 계산이 발표되었다.

 

The medical community saw great potential in these lasers, although difficulty controlling the power output and delivery of early laser systems led to inconsistent and disappointing results in early human studies. one area where lasers did seem to have promise was eye surgery. In 1964, an easy-to-control, high-absorption argon ion laser was developed, and clinical systems soon became available for the treatment of retinal disease.

 

또한 그 해에 물에 잘 흡수되는 쉽게 적중되는 적외선 빔을 방출하는 이산화탄소 레이저가 개발되었다. 인간의 몸은 주로 물로 이루어져 있기 때문에 의사들은 이산화탄소 레이저가 조직을 메스 처럼 자를 것이라는 걸 찾아내었다―빔의 열로 즉시 조직을 지지므로 혈액 손실이 훨씬 적어질 수 있다.

 

By the early 1970s, teaching hospitals were using CO2 lasers for sinus and gynecologic surgeries. In another 10 years, laser surgery became widespread, and smaller but more powerful devices began appearing in hospitals and even doctor's offices for everything from making laparoscopic surgical incisions to removing tattoos and birthmarks. Lasers today are also widely used for cosmetic surgery, including skin resurfacing, hair removal, and the treatment of varicose leg veins, among other procedures.

 

 

 

Today, dentists can use lasers to detect early-forming cavities.

 

Scientists at MIT are studying how a laser and a light-activated dye may be able to help heal surgical wounds and prevent scarring.

 

The first laser was created with a synthetic ruby crystal and produced a bright red light called a ruby laser.