Lasers

Type: Concept

As of November 2026, Lasers has been mentioned in one podcast episode on Stuff You Should Know (Feb 2026). The episode explains what lasers are, how stimulated emission enables them, and surveys major laser types and applications from barcodes to fusion research.

A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word laser originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. The first laser was built in 1960 by Theodore Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories, based on theoretical work by Charles H. Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow and the optical amplifier patented by Gordon Gould.