Laser Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The first laser was built in 1960 by Theodore H. Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories, based on theoretical work by Charles Hard Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow. A laser differs from other sources of light in that it emits light "coherently". Spatial coherence allows a laser to be focused to a tight spot, enabling applications such as laser cutting and lithography. Spatial
Central Laser Facility laser development. DiPOLE is the brainchild of that project. The Vulcan is the first operational laser at the CLF. By 1997, when a new director was appointed, M. H. R. Hutchinson, formerly of Imperial College London, CLF was also operating a second laser, the Titania, at that time said to be the world brightest krypton fluoride laser. The Vulcan is the world's most powerful laser user facility. It emits a light beam in the petawatts. The construction of the core of the Vulcan was carried out by Kvaerner Engineering and Construction to specifications on par with those in the nuclear