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Who Invented The Laser?

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Tracking the history and pin pointing the creator of the laser is a difficult task. Lasers are complicated and a bit hard to explain, but there are many people that were involved with discovering different types of lasers, how they exist, and how to manipulate them. The word laser actually stands for the phrase, “light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation”. Continue reading to learn more about the history and those involved with the invention of the laser.

Einstein

The first person worth mentioning when it comes to the laser is Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein is famous for many reasons, but you may be unfamiliar with his work with lasers. Einstein was the first person to develop a theory based on laser beams, and his work prompted others within the scientific community to take his theory, develop it, and use it learn more about laser beams. Einstein’s theory involved a process called “stimulated emission”, and this is what he believed caused laser beams to occur and be possible.

Theodore Maiman

The first person to actually create a laser was Theodore Maiman. Many people had tried to produce lasers before Maiman’s success, but it wasn’t until 1960 that the first optical laser beam was created. Maiman called his laser the “ruby laser” because of its color.

Gordon Gould

Gordon Gould is sometimes thought to have been the first successful creator of lasers, but the argument is still up for dispute. It is believed that Gould created his optical laser as early as 1958, but because he was not awarded a patent for his laser until 1977, Maiman often gets credit for having been the first creator. Nonetheless, Gould’s contributions to laser creation were great, and he continued to work on them during his doctoral studies at Columbia University, and even after he completed his degree.

Other Types of Lasers

There are other lasers worth mentioning that were firsts in the field of laser studies. Gas, Injection, and Carbon Dioxide Lasers were all successfully designed and experimented with. All of the contributions noted above have been integral in the study of lasers and their capabilities.