Laser Dyes
date: label: date made
content: 1984
name: label: maker
content: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
notes: label: Description
content: Scientists first made lasers using solid crystals or mixtures of gasses in 1960. Lasers using liquid dyes were developed in 1965. Dyes proved useful for making lasers that could be tuned over a range of light frequencies, somewhat similar to a musical instrument that can be tuned to different sound frequencies. Each of these five glass ampoules contains about 1 microgram of dye in a solution with 50 milliliters of ethyl alcohol. The glass ampoules are storage containers. In operation a dye is typically pumped through the laser apparatus.
label: Description
content: These dye samples come from the Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation Program (ALVIS) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Light from a copper-vapor laser changed color (or frequency) by passing through a given dye, resulting in a laser beam with a specific frequency. Different frequencies equal different energy levels. Since atoms absorb energy at different frequencies, changing the laser light's color is a good way to impart just the right amount of energy needed to separate atoms such as isotopes that are almost, but not quite, identical.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Laser
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Electricity
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content: Energy & Power
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content: Lasers
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content: Science & Mathematics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1985.0236.12
label: accession number
content: 1985.0236
label: catalog number
content: 1985.0236.12
objectType: label: Object Name
content: dye samples
label: Object Name
content: laser dye samples
label: Other Terms
content: dye samples; Lasers and Masers
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: ethyl alcohol (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: organic compounds (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (tubes material)
label: Physical Description
content: blue (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: violet (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: magenta (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: pink (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: orange (overall color)
label: Measurements
content: each: 17 cm x 2.5 cm; 6 11/16 in x in