He had decided that synthetic ruby was a good lazing medium. Maiman's managers at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California had told him to stop wasting his time trying to make a ruby laser. But Maiman continued, and by putting mirrors on each end of a ruby rod and illuminating it with a bright flash lamp, the laser was born. Maiman's first laser was small enough for him to hold in one hand, but the size of lasers can vary widely. However, other lasers emit steady beams.
Power levels can span a wide range.
We think of lasers as emitting visible light, but the basic principles behind the laser are valid through much of the electromagnetic spectrum. We already saw that Townes produced the first stimulated emission in the microwave spectrum. Many lasers emit infrared and ultra violet light, and researchers now are creating lasers from the X-ray spectrum. A simpler model of how a laser work would be that of a flashlight. When a flashlight is turned on, the molecules of light leave the bulb and spread out into a wide field.