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
Sound amplification by stimulated emission of radiation is possible. In a two level system, the particles have only two available energy levels, separated by some energy difference: "ΔΕ = E - E = hv" where "ν" is the frequency of the associated electromagnetic wave of the photon emitted and "h" is the Planck constant. Also note: "E" > "E". These two levels are the excited (upper) and ground (lower) states. When a particle in the upper state interacts with a photon matching the energy separation of the levels, the particle may decay, emitting another photon with the same phase and frequency as the incident photon. Therefore, by