Talk:Maser

message: To quote the article:
Theoretically, reflecting principles previously discussed by Joseph Weber at the June 1952 conference of the Institute of Radio Engineers[1], the principle of the maser was described by Nikolay Basov and Alexander Prokhorov from Lebedev Institute of Physics at an All-Union Conference on Radio-Spectroscopy held by USSR Academy of Sciences in May 1952. 
May 1952 comes before June 1952, so how can June be "previously"?
Giant Crab 03:22, 30 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Basov and Prokhorov

message: I have been reading more on the early history of the laser, particularly Taylor's biography of Gordon Gould (referenced there). It appears that the usage of "laser" vs. "optical maser" is completely intertwined with the patent fight (and fight for recognition) between Gould and Townes. Townes and his colleagues continued using "optical maser" long after the rest of the scientific community had adopted Gould's terminology, in part because they were still fighting with Gould over who deserved the credit (and the patent) for the invention. When I have some time, I will edit this article to reduce the emphasis on "optical maser" and "molecular amplification of...". These are obsolete terms that really only deserve a brief mention in the context of the history of the field.--Srleffler 21:43, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Naming, again

message: If there are light and microwave -asers surely it is possible to create a xaser or raser, no!?  x-ray or radio, or any other spectrum of electromagnetism - aser??  Thoughts?
::Yes, In principle you can get coherent radiation anywhere you get spontaneous radiation, providing: i) you have a sufficient feedback mechanism through a resonator (two mirrors for example), ii) you create a population inversion, as the source of energy.
::Those two conditions become more difficult to attain at higher frequencies. Optical pumping which is sometimes used to create population inversion requires some light which is at a lower wavelength: for example the light from a "blue" laser can pump a "red" laser but not the opposite. What would you use then to pump a blue laser? Alain Michaud 05:37, 4 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: X-ray lasers have in fact been made. The most famous type was pumped by a nuclear explosion. (Really.) Obviously, it is a one-shot device. Laboratory-scale X-ray lasers have been made at Livermore and Princeton. These were pumped by very intense laser pulses, strong enough to ionize the lasing medium and excite the ions into an excited state despite the pump light being of lower frequency than the x-rays. These have been used for plasma diagnostics and for imaging. While these are universally referred to as x-ray lasers, they are not true lasers because they lack a resonant cavity. Technically, they are supperradiant emission devices. It's very hard to make good mirrors for x-rays, but if you have enough gain you can get stimulated emission without a resonant cavity. See [] for an article on x-ray lasers.--Srleffler 07:22, 4 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: X-ray lasers

message: I don't agree with the simplistic view of Srleffler.  It is true that the basic circle crops can be drawn manually with a stick and a rope, but intricate, and image-like print outs can be possible only with the support of a precision, numerically controlled device i.e., HW & SW.) (Hmoraga, Autor of the Circle Crops addition).  I think that the Masers addition qualifies under the title "Controversy" and it should be kept.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hmoraga (talk • contribs) 02:24, 31 May 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Sorry, but this is trash. Masers would not actually be useful for creating crop circles. Actually, the most plausible way of creating crop circles is with sticks and string. This has been demonstrated many times. The guys who made the first crop circles showed the press how they did it years ago.--Srleffler 00:41, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

text: Agree about the use of masers in crop circle formation, but from all the crop circles that continue to pop up, if these are being made exclusively by people with sticks and rope then there is an entire unnoticed international hobbyist subculture comparable to Ham radio that has gone mainly unnoticed for decades. Mike 05:11, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

text: This is close to the information I was seeking: A kilowatt device with a cavity which is pumped by intense sunlight to produce coherent microwaves or millimeter waves. What else might it be named other than maser which seems to be a nanowatt device?  Ccpoodle 22:15, 31 October 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Crop circles 

message: Should I include Gundam X in that section? Gundam X uses a MASER to deliver energy to its Satellite Cannon. Or is that theoretically possible? (In which case it SHOULDN'T be included?) -Izaak
:Probably not. Appearances of masers in science fiction are not that important in the context of an article on real masers. Only the most prominent examples should be included.--Srleffler 21:32, 29 September 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I realize tha tscience fiction uses are just incidental but considering the length of the list i think that Larry Niven's Known Space series should be mentioned were masers are used for communication and as a last ditch weapon.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Orangutanlibrarian (talk • contribs) 16:16, 17 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Science Fiction?

message: The Hydrogen Maser section notes that "The frequency of the signal is fixed but extremely stable." I assume that this is why it's useful as a time reference. But I would like to know why other masers may not be so stable. What mechanism would lead to a drift in the frequency? Thanks!
John Y (talk) 08:36, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Stability 

message: There should be a definition of maser in the introduction that explains what it is using plainer terms.  Otherwise, someone without much technical expertise, like myself, will find it difficult to understand.  I don't expect you dumb down the end product, so much as I want you to build it up first.      —Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.99.32.144 (talk) 16:00, 4 January 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree! How about loosely using the term microwave laser? Pb8bije6a7b6a3w (talk) 16:23, 19 April 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: Introduction needs greater clarity

message: The first lines in the paragraph "Uses" say that masers  "are also used as electronic amplifiers in radio telescopes." (which seem to confirm a statement in The Free Dictionary's Daily Content of Dec. 17, 2011: "Masers also make it possible to measure faint radio waves emitted by Venus.")
But I couldn't find any reference to masers in any of these two linked articles: (the one on Electronic amplifiers would seem to be the appropriate one). Can anyone tell why and how masers are turned into electronic amplifiers in these telescopes ?
Zsught (talk) 15:30, 18 December 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Read about the Arecibo Observatory, the Deep Space Network, and the Very Large Array, and not necessarily just the articles in the Wikipedia! 98.81.12.250 (talk) 22:53, 17 August 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Uses: Electronic amplifiers 

message: Isn't the section about the use of MASERs a bit empty ?  79.168.0.22 (talk) 17:32, 23 August 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Use of MASERs 

message: So, a maser is like a microwave laser?  I'm trying to glean enough to simplify the intro.  The one posted is intimidating to learners. Pb8bije6a7b6a3w (talk) 16:25, 19 April 2013 (UTC)
replies: text: Not just like: is. A laser is a higher-freq maser.  TREKphiler any time you're ready, Uhura  01:56, 20 April 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  intimidating intro 

message: This intro is still college level.  If you don't like how I simplified it, you simplify it. But for sure you are intimidating people with this intro. Pb8bije6a7b6a3w (talk) 13:43, 20 April 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  simplify intro 

message: The Astrophysical maser link should be included in this article.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.104.20.204 (talk) 13:49, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Astrophysical maser added to ''see also'' section. 

message: Given Wikipedia's rules on capitalization (which are very odd, to my mind anyway), should there be a change in the lede? Specifically, in the first paragraph there currently is this: "microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation" (small caps). In the 3rd paragraph there is, "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation" (Word Caps). Shouldn't one of them be changed? I personally prefer the Word Caps but I think Wikipedia prefers the other. (I would argue for word caps since it emphasizes the letter for the acronym, which used to be the common practice years ago. I'm an old timer who doesn't like things to change to the new ways. Who says covered wagons are out dated?) __209.179.24.64 (talk) 16:37, 8 March 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Wikipedia's rules on capitalization (in the lede) 

message: In the astrophysical section it mentions a spectral line at 96 GHz originating from maser action on a vibrational mode of water, but there is no vibrational mode of water molecules with that low a frequency.  The rotational spectrum also has a gap here.  Perhaps it is an overtone of one of the rotations?  This should be clarified. Dllahr (talk) 12:49, 12 June 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  96 GHz vibration of water? 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified one external link on Maser. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20061017080654/http://www.bell-labs.com/about/history/laser/ to http://www.bell-labs.com/about/history/laser/
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 03:58, 5 June 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: This statement: "The laser works by the same principle as the maser, but produces higher frequency coherent radiation at visible wavelengths." does not seem accurate as there are many flavors of laser that emit infrared and ultraviolet spectrum, neither of which is considered a 'visible wavelength'. Should this be altered?
Georgekwatson (talk) 21:17, 16 May 2019 (UTC)
thread_title:  Laser spectrum inaccuracy 

message: Has anyone seen any use of an acronym for all frequencies of "asing", Electromagnetic Radiation Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, ERASER?  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chuck Baggett (talk • contribs) 13:46, 10 July 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Acronym