Laser-made holograms are in widespread use for security purposes. In the future, all of the information in the Library of Congress could be stored on a holographic medium the size of a sugar cube. Laser scanners are used in grocery stores, environmental sensors, radar detectors, lottery machines, blood analyzers and highway toll booths. Fiber cable acting as a pipe for laser light carries 80,000 phone calls at a time. Laser surgery is faster than the scalpel, can be non-invasive and seals blood vessels, making some transfusions unnecessary.
Lasers can remove scars, birthmarks, and tattoos.
1860 - J. Maxwell formulates wave equations for light. 1917 - A. Einstein performs fundamental studies on the nature of light, discovering the principles of spontaneous and stimulated emission. GE, IBM and the federally funded Lincoln Lab. Earh-based lasers can now transmit information to orbiting satellites. Astronauts put laser reflectors on the moon.