We will describe the various types and how they work. After this introduction to laser physics, we will spend most of the semester on the various uses of lasers in science, industry and society today and as well as those uses projected for application in the future. Laser Physics in a subset of a more general field variously called Quantum Electronics or Non-linear Optics and during the last 20 years its impact on society has been enormous. There are at least two trade journals, Laser Focus and Photonic Spectra , that describe the current state of laser applications. Both of these journals are in the University Library, and I would suggest that they will make good reading for the educated layman and are excellent sources for term paper topics. .
Complete collections are available in the departmental archeives.
Seer Dr. Copeland. Available in PDF format on the Web. During the course of the semester there will be about four problem sets assigned. These are generally at the level of a sophomore physics course. There is a term paper which will be graded as to physics content, English and format.