Light and its Uses: Making and Using Lasers, Holograms, Interferometers and Instruments of Dispersion.

Abstract

Readings from Scientific American, with introductions by Jearl Walker 1980 Oxford: W H Freeman 147 pp price £10.60 (£4.90 paperback) One of the most keenly-read sections of Scientific American is 'The amateur scientist', which is addressed primarily to scientific hobbyists, but which also strikes a responsive chord in any professional scientist whose work is something more than merely a job. Throughout the period 1957–76 this section was contributed by C L 'Red' Stong, who clearly brought out by his dedication and experimental excellence that the word 'amateur' was not being used in its modern pejorative sense of 'dilettante' or 'slipshod', but in its original meaning of 'devoted'.