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laser

A Dictionary of Astronomy | 1997 | Â© A Dictionary of Astronomy 1997, originally published by Oxford University Press 1997. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

laser A device for producing a beam of radiation that is monochromatic (all of one wavelength) and coherent (all the waves are in step), usually in the infrared, visual, or ultraviolet part of the spectrum. The name is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. The radiation is produced when excited electrons in an atom or molecule are stimulated into emitting radiation by the nearby passage of a photon. The new photon is emitted in step with (coherent with) the passing photon, with the same wavelength, and in the same direction. When many such photons are produced they produce a highly intense, parallel beam of radiation. Stimulated emission is the inverse of absorption. The microwave equivalent of a laser is a maser.

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