Making WavesAmerican Inst. of Physics, 1995 - 210 pagina's From one of the most imaginative and daring scientific minds of this or any century comes a thoughtful, almost intimate account of a personal journey through his momentous discoveries - achievements that have changed the face of medicine, industry, even weapons. Nobel laureate Charles H. Townes, inventor of the maser and co-inventor, with Arthur Schawlow, of the laser, takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of his unique - and startlingly productive and creative - way of working. Along the way, you'll learn about how Townes came upon his surprising findings and how he managed to avoid obstacles in his path. Townes introduces us to the wonders of the universe, from the submicroscopic, most minute - the workings of atoms and the even smaller particles that make them up - to the vast outer reaches of space. His tour takes us along paths Townes pioneered: quantum electronics, microwave spectroscopy and the frontiers of our galaxy where he explored the dark, rarefied clouds of gas and dust where new stars form. Recognizing that some of the most revolutionary recent scientific theories about how the universe emerged come close to religious thought, these accessible essays conclude with a uniquely personal coda in which Townes suggests that science and religion occupy the same terrain. |
Inhoudsopgave
Quantum Electronics and Surprise in Development | 3 |
Origins of the Maser and the Laser | 16 |
Escaping Stumbling Blocks in Quantum Electronics | 24 |
Copyright | |
14 andere gedeelten niet getoond
Overige edities - Alles bekijken
Veelvoorkomende woorden en zinsdelen
absorption ammonia applied Arthur Schawlow aspects astronomy atomic clock basic research beam believe Bell Laboratories Bell Telephone Laboratories billion Carbon 13 centimeter clouds coherent Columbia completely crowave detected detector device direct discovery earth effect electric field electromagnetic waves emitted energy engineering example exciting experience Figure frequency Galaxy government laboratories hence human hydrogen ideas important individual industrial laboratories infrared initial institutions intensity interaction interest interstellar clouds interstellar space isotopes knowledge laser laws light maser maser amplifiers material ment microwave region microwave spectroscopy molecular molecules nature nuclear optical maser optical region oscillator paramagnetic particles perhaps personnel physicists physics planets possible precision predicted problems produced quantum electronics quantum mechanics radar radiation radio waves reason religion religious result rotational scientific scientists seemed simply spectrum Stark effect stars stimulated emission success techniques telescopes temperature things tion types understanding universe velocity waveguide wavelengths