THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF LASER

Abstract

The year 2010 will mark the 50th an­ni­ver­sary of the in­ven­tion of la­ser – one of the gre­a­test techni­cal ac­hi­e­ve­ments of hu­man­kind du­ring the last cen­tury. This pa­per reviews the ro­le and impact of la­ser in con­tem­po­rary li­fe, and its wi­de ran­ge of application in sci­en­ce, edu­ca­tion, industry, me­di­cal and mi­li­tary prac­ti­ce, agri­cul­tu­re, arche­o­logy, in­for­ma­tion tran­sfer, con­trol and di­ag­no­stics of ready ma­de go­ods, etc.