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144-464: Like a laser , the emission from a maser is stimulated (or seeded ) and monochromatic, having the frequency corresponding to the energy difference between two quantum-mechanical energy levels of the species in the gain medium which have been pumped into a non-thermal population distribution . However, naturally occurring masers lack the resonant cavity engineered for terrestrial laboratory masers. The emission from an astrophysical maser

288-519: A gain medium , a mechanism to energize it, and something to provide optical feedback . The gain medium is a material with properties that allow it to amplify light by way of stimulated emission. Light of a specific wavelength that passes through the gain medium is amplified (power increases). Feedback enables stimulated emission to amplify predominantly the optical frequency at the peak of the gain-frequency curve. As stimulated emission grows, eventually one frequency dominates over all others, meaning that

432-471: A lens system, as is always included, for instance, in a laser pointer whose light originates from a laser diode . That is possible due to the light being of a single spatial mode. This unique property of laser light, spatial coherence , cannot be replicated using standard light sources (except by discarding most of the light) as can be appreciated by comparing the beam from a flashlight (torch) or spotlight to that of almost any laser. A laser beam profiler

576-473: A magnetic monopole is a hypothetical particle (or class of particles) that physically has only one magnetic pole (either a north pole or a south pole). In other words, it would possess a "magnetic charge" analogous to an electric charge. Magnetic field lines would start or end on magnetic monopoles, so if they exist, they would give exceptions to the rule that magnetic field lines neither start nor end. Some theories (such as Grand Unified Theories ) have predicted

720-459: A magnetometer . Important classes of magnetometers include using induction magnetometers (or search-coil magnetometers) which measure only varying magnetic fields, rotating coil magnetometers , Hall effect magnetometers, NMR magnetometers , SQUID magnetometers , and fluxgate magnetometers . The magnetic fields of distant astronomical objects are measured through their effects on local charged particles. For instance, electrons spiraling around

864-402: A regeneratively amplified Ti:Sapph stage, the physics is directly analogous to an amplified ray in an astrophysical maser. Furthermore, the practical limits of the use of the m to stand for microwave in maser are variously employed. For example, when lasers were initially developed in the visible portion of the spectrum, they were called optical masers. Charles Townes advocated that

1008-464: A broad spectrum of light or emit different wavelengths of light simultaneously. Certain lasers are not single spatial mode and have light beams that diverge more than is required by the diffraction limit . All such devices are classified as "lasers" based on the method of producing light by stimulated emission. Lasers are employed where light of the required spatial or temporal coherence can not be produced using simpler technologies. A laser consists of

1152-504: A chain reaction. The materials chosen for lasers are the ones that have metastable states , which stay excited for a relatively long time. In laser physics , such a material is called an active laser medium . Combined with an energy source that continues to "pump" energy into the material, it is possible to have enough atoms or molecules in an excited state for a chain reaction to develop. Lasers are distinguished from other light sources by their coherence . Spatial (or transverse) coherence

1296-436: A coherent beam has been formed. The process of stimulated emission is analogous to that of an audio oscillator with positive feedback which can occur, for example, when the speaker in a public-address system is placed in proximity to the microphone. The screech one hears is audio oscillation at the peak of the gain-frequency curve for the amplifier. For the gain medium to amplify light, it needs to be supplied with energy in

1440-419: A device lacks the spatial and temporal coherence achievable with lasers. Such a device cannot be described as an oscillator but rather as a high-gain optical amplifier that amplifies its spontaneous emission. The same mechanism describes so-called astrophysical masers /lasers. The optical resonator is sometimes referred to as an "optical cavity", but this is a misnomer: lasers use open resonators as opposed to

1584-401: A distance of about 100 to 400 AU, and silicon monoxide masers at a distance of about 5 to 10 AU. Both radiative and collisional pumping resulting from the shockwave have been suggested as the pumping mechanism for the silicon monoxide masers. These masers diminish for larger radii as the gaseous silicon monoxide condenses into dust, depleting the available maser molecules. For the water masers,

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1728-419: A field line produce synchrotron radiation that is detectable in radio waves . The finest precision for a magnetic field measurement was attained by Gravity Probe B at 5 aT ( 5 × 10  T ). The field can be visualized by a set of magnetic field lines , that follow the direction of the field at each point. The lines can be constructed by measuring the strength and direction of the magnetic field at

1872-508: A gain medium must have a gain bandwidth sufficiently broad to amplify those frequencies. An example of a suitable material is titanium -doped, artificially grown sapphire ( Ti:sapphire ), which has a very wide gain bandwidth and can thus produce pulses of only a few femtoseconds duration. Such mode-locked lasers are a most versatile tool for researching processes occurring on extremely short time scales (known as femtosecond physics, femtosecond chemistry and ultrafast science ), for maximizing

2016-480: A given pulse energy, this requires creating pulses of the shortest possible duration utilizing techniques such as Q-switching . The optical bandwidth of a pulse cannot be narrower than the reciprocal of the pulse width. In the case of extremely short pulses, that implies lasing over a considerable bandwidth, quite contrary to the very narrow bandwidths typical of CW lasers. The lasing medium in some dye lasers and vibronic solid-state lasers produces optical gain over

2160-399: A higher energy level with energy difference ΔE, it will not stay that way forever. Eventually, a photon will be spontaneously created from the vacuum having energy ΔE. Conserving energy, the electron transitions to a lower energy level that is not occupied, with transitions to different levels having different time constants. This process is called spontaneous emission . Spontaneous emission is

2304-409: A large number of points (or at every point in space). Then, mark each location with an arrow (called a vector ) pointing in the direction of the local magnetic field with its magnitude proportional to the strength of the magnetic field. Connecting these arrows then forms a set of magnetic field lines. The direction of the magnetic field at any point is parallel to the direction of nearby field lines, and

2448-904: A laser beam to stay narrow over great distances ( collimation ), a feature used in applications such as laser pointers , lidar , and free-space optical communication . Lasers can also have high temporal coherence , which permits them to emit light with a very narrow frequency spectrum . Temporal coherence can also be used to produce ultrashort pulses of light with a broad spectrum but durations as short as an attosecond . Lasers are used in optical disc drives , laser printers , barcode scanners , DNA sequencing instruments , fiber-optic and free-space optical communications, semiconductor chip manufacturing ( photolithography , etching ), laser surgery and skin treatments, cutting and welding materials, military and law enforcement devices for marking targets and measuring range and speed, and in laser lighting displays for entertainment. Semiconductor lasers in

2592-476: A laser beam, it is highly collimated : the wavefronts are planar, normal to the direction of propagation, with no beam divergence at that point. However, due to diffraction , that can only remain true well within the Rayleigh range . The beam of a single transverse mode (gaussian beam) laser eventually diverges at an angle that varies inversely with the beam diameter, as required by diffraction theory. Thus,

2736-471: A laser is normally a material of controlled purity, size, concentration, and shape, which amplifies the beam by the process of stimulated emission described above. This material can be of any state : gas, liquid, solid, or plasma . The gain medium absorbs pump energy, which raises some electrons into higher energy (" excited ") quantum states . Particles can interact with light by either absorbing or emitting photons. Emission can be spontaneous or stimulated. In

2880-420: A magnetic H -field is produced by fictitious magnetic charges that are spread over the surface of each pole. These magnetic charges are in fact related to the magnetization field M . The H -field, therefore, is analogous to the electric field E , which starts at a positive electric charge and ends at a negative electric charge. Near the north pole, therefore, all H -field lines point away from

3024-648: A magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to the magnetic field. A permanent magnet 's magnetic field pulls on ferromagnetic materials such as iron , and attracts or repels other magnets. In addition, a nonuniform magnetic field exerts minuscule forces on "nonmagnetic" materials by three other magnetic effects: paramagnetism , diamagnetism , and antiferromagnetism , although these forces are usually so small they can only be detected by laboratory equipment. Magnetic fields surround magnetized materials, electric currents, and electric fields varying in time. Since both strength and direction of

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3168-503: A magnetic field may vary with location, it is described mathematically by a function assigning a vector to each point of space, called a vector field (more precisely, a pseudovector field). In electromagnetics , the term magnetic field is used for two distinct but closely related vector fields denoted by the symbols B and H . In the International System of Units , the unit of B , magnetic flux density,

3312-424: A magnetized material, the quantities on each side of this equation differ by the magnetization field of the material. Magnetic fields are produced by moving electric charges and the intrinsic magnetic moments of elementary particles associated with a fundamental quantum property, their spin . Magnetic fields and electric fields are interrelated and are both components of the electromagnetic force , one of

3456-429: A magnetized object is divided in half, a new pole appears on the surface of each piece, so each has a pair of complementary poles. The magnetic pole model does not account for magnetism that is produced by electric currents, nor the inherent connection between angular momentum and magnetism. The pole model usually treats magnetic charge as a mathematical abstraction, rather than a physical property of particles. However,

3600-419: A maser cloud continues as long as pumping processes can maintain the population inversion against the growing losses by stimulated emission. While this is so the maser is said to be unsaturated . However, after a point, the population inversion cannot be maintained any longer and the maser becomes saturated . In a saturated maser, amplification of radiation depends linearly on the size of population inversion and

3744-467: A maser emitting at a wavelength of a few micrometres , even though the optics community terms similar sources lasers . The term taser has been used to describe laboratory masers in the terahertz regime, although astronomers might call these sub-millimeter masers and laboratory physicists generally call these gas lasers or specifically alcohol lasers in reference to the gain species. The electrical engineering community typically limits

3888-418: A multi-level system as a method for obtaining the population inversion, later a main method of laser pumping. Townes reports that several eminent physicists—among them Niels Bohr , John von Neumann , and Llewellyn Thomas —argued the maser violated Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and hence could not work. Others such as Isidor Rabi and Polykarp Kusch expected that it would be impractical and not worth

4032-402: A north and a south pole. The magnetic field of permanent magnets can be quite complicated, especially near the magnet. The magnetic field of a small straight magnet is proportional to the magnet's strength (called its magnetic dipole moment m ). The equations are non-trivial and depend on the distance from the magnet and the orientation of the magnet. For simple magnets, m points in

4176-441: A process called pumping . The energy is typically supplied as an electric current or as light at a different wavelength. Pump light may be provided by a flash lamp or by another laser. The most common type of laser uses feedback from an optical cavity —a pair of mirrors on either end of the gain medium. Light bounces back and forth between the mirrors, passing through the gain medium and being amplified each time. Typically one of

4320-468: A quantum-mechanical effect and a direct physical manifestation of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle . The emitted photon has a random direction, but its wavelength matches the absorption wavelength of the transition. This is the mechanism of fluorescence and thermal emission . A photon with the correct wavelength to be absorbed by a transition can also cause an electron to drop from the higher to

4464-432: A seminar on this idea, and Charles H. Townes asked him for a copy of the paper. In 1953, Charles H. Townes and graduate students James P. Gordon and Herbert J. Zeiger produced the first microwave amplifier, a device operating on similar principles to the laser, but amplifying microwave radiation rather than infrared or visible radiation. Townes's maser was incapable of continuous output. Meanwhile, in

Astrophysical maser - Misplaced Pages Continue

4608-500: A small distance vector d , such that m = q m   d . The magnetic pole model predicts correctly the field H both inside and outside magnetic materials, in particular the fact that H is opposite to the magnetization field M inside a permanent magnet. Since it is based on the fictitious idea of a magnetic charge density , the pole model has limitations. Magnetic poles cannot exist apart from each other as electric charges can, but always come in north–south pairs. If

4752-452: A small magnet is proportional both to the applied magnetic field and to the magnetic moment m of the magnet: τ = m × B = μ 0 m × H , {\displaystyle {\boldsymbol {\tau }}=\mathbf {m} \times \mathbf {B} =\mu _{0}\mathbf {m} \times \mathbf {H} ,\,} where × represents the vector cross product . This equation includes all of

4896-431: A small volume of material at the surface of a workpiece can be evaporated if it is heated in a very short time, while supplying the energy gradually would allow for the heat to be absorbed into the bulk of the piece, never attaining a sufficiently high temperature at a particular point. Other applications rely on the peak pulse power (rather than the energy in the pulse), especially to obtain nonlinear optical effects. For

5040-462: A strong interstellar OH maser. Of course, at 10K the OH molecule would dissociate ( kT is greater than the bond energy), so the brightness temperature is not indicative of the kinetic temperature of the maser gas but is nevertheless useful in describing maser emission. Masers have incredible effective temperatures, many around 10K, but some of up to 10K and even 10K. An important aspect of maser study

5184-408: A torque proportional to the distance (perpendicular to the force) between them. With the definition of m as the pole strength times the distance between the poles, this leads to τ = μ 0 m H sin  θ , where μ 0 is a constant called the vacuum permeability , measuring 4π × 10 V · s /( A · m ) and θ is the angle between H and m . Mathematically, the torque τ on

5328-430: A wide bandwidth, making a laser possible that can thus generate pulses of light as short as a few femtoseconds (10 s). In a Q-switched laser, the population inversion is allowed to build up by introducing loss inside the resonator which exceeds the gain of the medium; this can also be described as a reduction of the quality factor or 'Q' of the cavity. Then, after the pump energy stored in the laser medium has approached

5472-492: A wide range of technologies addressing many different motivations. Some lasers are pulsed simply because they cannot be run in continuous mode. In other cases, the application requires the production of pulses having as large an energy as possible. Since the pulse energy is equal to the average power divided by the repetition rate, this goal can sometimes be satisfied by lowering the rate of pulses so that more energy can be built up between pulses. In laser ablation , for example,

5616-455: Is polarisation of the emission. Astronomical masers are often very highly polarised, sometimes 100% (in the case of some OH masers) in a circular fashion , and to a lesser degree in a linear fashion . This polarisation is due to some combination of the Zeeman effect , magnetic beaming of the maser radiation, and anisotropic pumping which favours certain magnetic-state transitions. Many of

5760-501: Is tesla (symbol: T). The Gaussian-cgs unit of B is the gauss (symbol: G). (The conversion is 1 T ≘ 10000 G. ) One nanotesla corresponds to 1 gamma (symbol: γ). The magnetic H field is defined: H ≡ 1 μ 0 B − M {\displaystyle \mathbf {H} \equiv {\frac {1}{\mu _{0}}}\mathbf {B} -\mathbf {M} } where μ 0 {\displaystyle \mu _{0}}

5904-557: Is a specific example of a general rule that magnets are attracted (or repulsed depending on the orientation of the magnet) into regions of higher magnetic field. Any non-uniform magnetic field, whether caused by permanent magnets or electric currents, exerts a force on a small magnet in this way. The details of the Amperian loop model are different and more complicated but yield the same result: that magnetic dipoles are attracted/repelled into regions of higher magnetic field. Mathematically,

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6048-404: Is a transition between energy levels that match the energy carried by the photon or phonon. For light, this means that any given transition will only absorb one particular wavelength of light. Photons with the correct wavelength can cause an electron to jump from the lower to the higher energy level. The photon is consumed in this process. When an electron is excited from one state to that at

6192-480: Is also required for three-level lasers in which the lower energy level rapidly becomes highly populated, preventing further lasing until those atoms relax to the ground state. These lasers, such as the excimer laser and the copper vapor laser, can never be operated in CW mode. In 1917, Albert Einstein established the theoretical foundations for the laser and the maser in the paper " Zur Quantentheorie der Strahlung " ("On

6336-413: Is called an optical amplifier . When an optical amplifier is placed inside a resonant optical cavity, one obtains a laser. For lasing media with extremely high gain, so-called superluminescence , light can be sufficiently amplified in a single pass through the gain medium without requiring a resonator. Although often referred to as a laser (see, for example, nitrogen laser ), the light output from such

6480-422: Is due to a single pass through the gain medium and therefore generally lacks the spatial coherence and mode purity expected from a laboratory maser. Due to the differences between engineered and naturally occurring masers, it is often stated that astrophysical masers are not "true" masers because they lack oscillation cavities. However, the distinction between oscillator-based lasers and single-pass lasers

6624-462: Is emitted by stimulated emission is identical to the photon that triggered its emission, and both photons can go on to trigger stimulated emission in other atoms, creating the possibility of a chain reaction . For this to happen, many of the atoms or molecules must be in the proper excited state so that the photons can trigger them. In most materials, atoms or molecules drop out of excited states fairly rapidly, making it difficult or impossible to produce

6768-494: Is falling. Excitations of these molecules in the disk or in a jet can result in megamasers with large luminosities. Hydroxyl, water, and formaldehyde masers are known to exist in these conditions. Astronomical masers remain an active field of research in radio astronomy and laboratory astrophysics due, in part, to the fact that they are valuable diagnostic tools for astrophysical environments which may otherwise elude rigorous quantitative study and because they may facilitate

6912-421: Is formed by single-frequency quantum photon states distributed according to a Poisson distribution . As a result, the arrival rate of photons in a laser beam is described by Poisson statistics. Many lasers produce a beam that can be approximated as a Gaussian beam ; such beams have the minimum divergence possible for a given beam diameter. Some lasers, particularly high-power ones, produce multimode beams, with

7056-443: Is frequently used in the field, meaning "to give off coherent light," especially about the gain medium of a laser; when a laser is operating, it is said to be " lasing ". The terms laser and maser are also used for naturally occurring coherent emissions, as in astrophysical maser and atom laser . A laser that produces light by itself is technically an optical oscillator rather than an optical amplifier as suggested by

7200-421: Is impossible. In some other lasers, it would require pumping the laser at a very high continuous power level, which would be impractical, or destroying the laser by producing excessive heat. Such lasers cannot be run in CW mode. The pulsed operation of lasers refers to any laser not classified as a continuous wave so that the optical power appears in pulses of some duration at some repetition rate. This encompasses

7344-491: Is in the opposite direction. If both the speed and the charge are reversed then the direction of the force remains the same. For that reason a magnetic field measurement (by itself) cannot distinguish whether there is a positive charge moving to the right or a negative charge moving to the left. (Both of these cases produce the same current.) On the other hand, a magnetic field combined with an electric field can distinguish between these, see Hall effect below. The first term in

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7488-455: Is known to be associated with supernova remnants that interact with molecular clouds . While some of the masers in star forming regions can achieve luminosities sufficient for detection from external galaxies (such as the nearby Magellanic Clouds ), masers observed from distant galaxies generally arise in wholly different conditions. Some galaxies possess central black holes into which a disk of molecular material (about 0.5 parsec in size)

7632-469: Is much more accurate than other distance determinations, and gives us information about the galactic distance scale, e.g. the distance of spiral arms. Unlike terrestrial lasers and masers for which the excitation mechanism is known and engineered, the reverse is true for astrophysical masers. In general, astrophysical masers are discovered empirically then studied further in order to develop plausible suggestions about possible pumping schemes. Quantification of

7776-417: Is no net force on that magnet since the force is opposite for opposite poles. If, however, the magnetic field of the first magnet is nonuniform (such as the H near one of its poles), each pole of the second magnet sees a different field and is subject to a different force. This difference in the two forces moves the magnet in the direction of increasing magnetic field and may also cause a net torque. This

7920-405: Is not the result of random thermal processes. Instead, the release of a photon is triggered by the nearby passage of another photon. This is called stimulated emission . For this process to work, the passing photon must be similar in energy, and thus wavelength, to the one that could be released by the atom or molecule, and the atom or molecule must be in the suitable excited state. The photon that

8064-422: Is particularly true for magnetic fields, such as those due to electric currents, that are not generated by magnetic materials. A realistic model of magnetism is more complicated than either of these models; neither model fully explains why materials are magnetic. The monopole model has no experimental support. The Amperian loop model explains some, but not all of a material's magnetic moment. The model predicts that

8208-488: Is predicted that masers exist in the atmospheres of gas giant planets. Such masers would be highly variable due to planetary rotation (10-hour period for Jovian planets). Cyclotron masers have been detected at the north pole of Jupiter. In 2009, S. V. Pogrebenko et al. reported the detection of water masers in the plumes of water associated with the Saturnian moons Hyperion, Titan, Enceladus, and Atlas. The conditions in

8352-449: Is strictly only valid for magnets of zero size, but is often a good approximation for not too large magnets. The magnetic force on larger magnets is determined by dividing them into smaller regions each having their own m then summing up the forces on each of these very small regions . If two like poles of two separate magnets are brought near each other, and one of the magnets is allowed to turn, it promptly rotates to align itself with

8496-418: Is that of maximum increase of m · B . The dot product m · B = mB cos( θ ) , where m and B represent the magnitude of the m and B vectors and θ is the angle between them. If m is in the same direction as B then the dot product is positive and the gradient points "uphill" pulling the magnet into regions of higher B -field (more strictly larger m · B ). This equation

8640-550: Is the tesla (in SI base units: kilogram per second squared per ampere), which is equivalent to newton per meter per ampere. The unit of H , magnetic field strength, is ampere per meter (A/m). B and H differ in how they take the medium and/or magnetization into account. In vacuum , the two fields are related through the vacuum permeability , B / μ 0 = H {\displaystyle \mathbf {B} /\mu _{0}=\mathbf {H} } ; in

8784-449: Is the vacuum permeability , and M is the magnetization vector . In a vacuum, B and H are proportional to each other. Inside a material they are different (see H and B inside and outside magnetic materials ). The SI unit of the H -field is the ampere per metre (A/m), and the CGS unit is the oersted (Oe). An instrument used to measure the local magnetic field is known as

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8928-489: Is to heat an object; some of the thermal energy being applied to the object will cause the molecules and electrons within the object to gain energy, which is then lost through thermal radiation , that we see as light. This is the process that causes a candle flame to give off light. Thermal radiation is a random process, and thus the photons emitted have a range of different wavelengths , travel in different directions, and are released at different times. The energy within

9072-504: Is to pump the laser material with a source that is itself pulsed, either through electronic charging in the case of flash lamps, or another laser that is already pulsed. Pulsed pumping was historically used with dye lasers where the inverted population lifetime of a dye molecule was so short that a high-energy, fast pump was needed. The way to overcome this problem was to charge up large capacitors which are then switched to discharge through flashlamps, producing an intense flash. Pulsed pumping

9216-441: Is typically expressed through the output being a narrow beam, which is diffraction-limited . Laser beams can be focused to very tiny spots, achieving a very high irradiance , or they can have a very low divergence to concentrate their power at a great distance. Temporal (or longitudinal) coherence implies a polarized wave at a single frequency, whose phase is correlated over a relatively great distance (the coherence length ) along

9360-430: Is used to measure the intensity profile, width, and divergence of laser beams. Diffuse reflection of a laser beam from a matte surface produces a speckle pattern with interesting properties. The mechanism of producing radiation in a laser relies on stimulated emission , where energy is extracted from a transition in an atom or molecule. This is a quantum phenomenon that was predicted by Albert Einstein , who derived

9504-476: The Barnett effect or magnetization by rotation . Rotating the loop faster (in the same direction) increases the current and therefore the magnetic moment, for example. Specifying the force between two small magnets is quite complicated because it depends on the strength and orientation of both magnets and their distance and direction relative to each other. The force is particularly sensitive to rotations of

9648-403: The centres of galaxies containing black holes , leading to refinements in existing theoretical models. In 1965 an unexpected discovery was made by Weaver et al. : emission lines in space, of unknown origin, at a frequency of 1665 MHz. At this time many researchers still thought that molecules could not exist in space, even though they had been discovered by McKellar in the 1940s, and so

9792-403: The m stand for molecule , since energy states of molecules generally provide the masing transition. Along these lines, some use the term laser to describe any system that exploits an electronic transition and the term maser to describe a system that exploits a rotational or vibrational transition, regardless of the output frequency. Some astrophysicists use the term iraser to describe

9936-410: The phase of the emitted light is 90 degrees in lead of the stimulating light. This, combined with the filtering effect of the optical resonator gives laser light its characteristic coherence, and may give it uniform polarization and monochromaticity, depending on the resonator's design. The fundamental laser linewidth of light emitted from the lasing resonator can be orders of magnitude narrower than

10080-421: The transverse modes often approximated using Hermite – Gaussian or Laguerre -Gaussian functions. Some high-power lasers use a flat-topped profile known as a " tophat beam ". Unstable laser resonators (not used in most lasers) produce fractal-shaped beams. Specialized optical systems can produce more complex beam geometries, such as Bessel beams and optical vortexes . Near the "waist" (or focal region ) of

10224-466: The velocity -coherent path length, any variation of either will itself result in exponential change of the maser output. Exponential gain also amplifies the centre of the line shape ( Gaussian or Lorentzian , etc.) more than the edges or wings. This results in an emission line shape that is much taller but not much wider. This makes the line appear narrower relative to the unamplified line. The exponential growth in intensity of radiation passing through

10368-583: The "magnetic field" written B and H . While both the best names for these fields and exact interpretation of what these fields represent has been the subject of long running debate, there is wide agreement about how the underlying physics work. Historically, the term "magnetic field" was reserved for H while using other terms for B , but many recent textbooks use the term "magnetic field" to describe B as well as or in place of H . There are many alternative names for both (see sidebars). The magnetic field vector B at any point can be defined as

10512-600: The "number" of field lines through a surface. These concepts can be quickly "translated" to their mathematical form. For example, the number of field lines through a given surface is the surface integral of the magnetic field. Various phenomena "display" magnetic field lines as though the field lines were physical phenomena. For example, iron filings placed in a magnetic field form lines that correspond to "field lines". Magnetic field "lines" are also visually displayed in polar auroras , in which plasma particle dipole interactions create visible streaks of light that line up with

10656-505: The "pencil beam" directly generated by a common helium–neon laser would spread out to a size of perhaps 500 kilometers when shone on the Moon (from the distance of the Earth). On the other hand, the light from a semiconductor laser typically exits the tiny crystal with a large divergence: up to 50°. However even such a divergent beam can be transformed into a similarly collimated beam employing

10800-455: The 22 GHz region from the water molecule. Despite the apparent rarity of these events, observation of the intense maser emission has been suggested as a detection scheme for extrasolar planets . Ultraviolet light from the Sun breaks down some water molecules to form hydroxides that can mase. In 1997, 1667-MHz maser emission characteristic of hydroxide was observed from comet Hale-Bopp . It

10944-591: The Lorentz equation is from the theory of electrostatics , and says that a particle of charge q in an electric field E experiences an electric force: F electric = q E . {\displaystyle \mathbf {F} _{\text{electric}}=q\mathbf {E} .} The second term is the magnetic force: F magnetic = q ( v × B ) . {\displaystyle \mathbf {F} _{\text{magnetic}}=q(\mathbf {v} \times \mathbf {B} ).} Using

11088-449: The OH molecule near 53 MHz are expected to occur but have yet to be observed, perhaps due to a lack of sensitive equipment. Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation . The word laser is an anacronym that originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation . The first laser

11232-677: The Quantum Theory of Radiation") via a re-derivation of Max Planck 's law of radiation, conceptually based upon probability coefficients ( Einstein coefficients ) for the absorption, spontaneous emission, and stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. In 1928, Rudolf W. Ladenburg confirmed the existence of the phenomena of stimulated emission and negative absorption. In 1939, Valentin A. Fabrikant predicted using stimulated emission to amplify "short" waves. In 1947, Willis E. Lamb and R.   C.   Retherford found apparent stimulated emission in hydrogen spectra and effected

11376-509: The Soviet Union, Nikolay Basov and Aleksandr Prokhorov were independently working on the quantum oscillator and solved the problem of continuous-output systems by using more than two energy levels. These gain media could release stimulated emissions between an excited state and a lower excited state, not the ground state, facilitating the maintenance of a population inversion . In 1955, Prokhorov and Basov suggested optical pumping of

11520-614: The acronym. It has been humorously noted that the acronym LOSER, for "light oscillation by stimulated emission of radiation", would have been more correct. With the widespread use of the original acronym as a common noun, optical amplifiers have come to be referred to as laser amplifiers . Modern physics describes light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation as the group behavior of fundamental particles known as photons . Photons are released and absorbed through electromagnetic interactions with other fundamental particles that carry electric charge . A common way to release photons

11664-522: The area of the loop and depends on the direction of the current using the right-hand rule. An ideal magnetic dipole is modeled as a real magnetic dipole whose area a has been reduced to zero and its current I increased to infinity such that the product m = Ia is finite. This model clarifies the connection between angular momentum and magnetic moment, which is the basis of the Einstein–de Haas effect rotation by magnetization and its inverse,

11808-422: The atmospheres of late-type stars support the pumping of different maser species at different distances from the star. Due to instabilities within the nuclear burning sections of the star, the star experiences periods of increased energy release. These pulses produce a shockwave that forces the atmosphere outward. Hydroxyl masers occur at a distance of about 1,000 to 10,000 astronomical units (AU), water masers at

11952-476: The beam. A beam produced by a thermal or other incoherent light source has an instantaneous amplitude and phase that vary randomly with respect to time and position, thus having a short coherence length. Lasers are characterized according to their wavelength in a vacuum . Most "single wavelength" lasers produce radiation in several modes with slightly different wavelengths. Although temporal coherence implies some degree of monochromaticity , some lasers emit

12096-425: The blue to near-UV have also been used in place of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to excite fluorescence as a white light source; this permits a much smaller emitting area due to the much greater radiance of a laser and avoids the droop suffered by LEDs; such devices are already used in some car headlamps . The first device using amplification by stimulated emission operated at microwave frequencies, and

12240-540: The bulk of astrophysical masers. Various pumping schemes – both radiative and collisional and combinations thereof – result in the maser emission of multiple transitions of many species. For example, the OH molecule has been observed to mase at 1612, 1665, 1667, 1720, 4660, 4750, 4765, 6031, 6035, and 13441 MHz. Water and methanol masers are also typical of these environments. Relatively rare masers such as ammonia and formaldehyde may also be found in star-forming regions. The 1720 MHz maser transition of hydroxide

12384-526: The characteristics of megamaser emission are different. Comets are small bodies (5 to 15 km diameter) of frozen volatiles ( e.g. , water, carbon dioxide, ammonia , and methane ) embedded in a crusty silicate filler that orbit the Sun in eccentric orbits. As they approach the Sun, the volatiles vaporise to form a halo and later a tail around the nucleus. Once vaporised, these molecules can form inversions and mase. The impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter in 1994 resulted in maser emissions in

12528-504: The charge carriers in a material through the Hall effect . The Earth produces its own magnetic field , which shields the Earth's ozone layer from the solar wind and is important in navigation using a compass . The force on an electric charge depends on its location, speed, and direction; two vector fields are used to describe this force. The first is the electric field , which describes

12672-421: The cloud that has a slightly longer path length than the rest will appear much brighter (as it is the exponent of the path length that is relevant), and so maser spots are typically much smaller than their parent clouds. The majority of the radiation will emerge along this line of greatest path length in a "beam"; this is termed beaming . As the gain of a maser depends exponentially on the population inversion and

12816-403: The definition of the cross product, the magnetic force can also be written as a scalar equation: F magnetic = q v B sin ⁡ ( θ ) {\displaystyle F_{\text{magnetic}}=qvB\sin(\theta )} where F magnetic , v , and B are the scalar magnitude of their respective vectors, and θ is the angle between the velocity of

12960-428: The direction of a line drawn from the south to the north pole of the magnet. Flipping a bar magnet is equivalent to rotating its m by 180 degrees. The magnetic field of larger magnets can be obtained by modeling them as a collection of a large number of small magnets called dipoles each having their own m . The magnetic field produced by the magnet then is the net magnetic field of these dipoles; any net force on

13104-571: The distance to the galaxy NGC 4258 from the analysis of the motion of the masers in the black-hole disk. Also, water masers have been used to estimate the distance and proper motion of galaxies in the Local Group , including that of the Triangulum Galaxy . VLBI observations of maser sources in late type stars and star forming regions provide determinations of their trigonometric parallax and therefore their distance. This method

13248-561: The effect of nonlinearity in optical materials (e.g. in second-harmonic generation , parametric down-conversion , optical parametric oscillators and the like). Unlike the giant pulse of a Q-switched laser, consecutive pulses from a mode-locked laser are phase-coherent; that is, the pulses (and not just their envelopes ) are identical and perfectly periodic. For this reason, and the extremely large peak powers attained by such short pulses, such lasers are invaluable in certain areas of research. Another method of achieving pulsed laser operation

13392-625: The effort. In 1964, Charles H. Townes, Nikolay Basov, and Aleksandr Prokhorov shared the Nobel Prize in Physics , "for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser–laser principle". Magnetic field A magnetic field (sometimes called B-field ) is a physical field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges , electric currents , and magnetic materials. A moving charge in

13536-657: The emission was at first attributed to a hypothetical form of interstellar matter named "mysterium", but the emission was soon identified as line emission from hydroxide molecules in compact sources within molecular clouds. More discoveries followed, with water emission in 1969, methanol emission in 1970, and silicon monoxide emission in 1974, all emanating from within molecular clouds. These were termed masers , as from their narrow line widths and high effective temperatures it became clear that these sources were amplifying microwave radiation. Masers were then discovered around highly evolved late-type stars , named OH/IR stars . First

13680-408: The existence of magnetic monopoles, but so far, none have been observed. In the model developed by Ampere , the elementary magnetic dipole that makes up all magnets is a sufficiently small Amperian loop with current I and loop area A . The dipole moment of this loop is m = IA . These magnetic dipoles produce a magnetic B -field. The magnetic field of a magnetic dipole is depicted in

13824-411: The figure. From outside, the ideal magnetic dipole is identical to that of an ideal electric dipole of the same strength. Unlike the electric dipole, a magnetic dipole is properly modeled as a current loop having a current I and an area a . Such a current loop has a magnetic moment of m = I a , {\displaystyle m=Ia,} where the direction of m is perpendicular to

13968-603: The first demonstration of stimulated emission. In 1950, Alfred Kastler (Nobel Prize for Physics 1966) proposed the method of optical pumping , which was experimentally demonstrated two years later by Brossel, Kastler, and Winter. In 1951, Joseph Weber submitted a paper on using stimulated emissions to make a microwave amplifier to the June 1952 Institute of Radio Engineers Vacuum Tube Research Conference in Ottawa , Ontario, Canada. After this presentation, RCA asked Weber to give

14112-522: The first. In this example, the magnetic field of the stationary magnet creates a magnetic torque on the magnet that is free to rotate. This magnetic torque τ tends to align a magnet's poles with the magnetic field lines. A compass, therefore, turns to align itself with Earth's magnetic field. In terms of the pole model, two equal and opposite magnetic charges experiencing the same H also experience equal and opposite forces. Since these equal and opposite forces are in different locations, this produces

14256-551: The force acting on a stationary charge and gives the component of the force that is independent of motion. The magnetic field, in contrast, describes the component of the force that is proportional to both the speed and direction of charged particles. The field is defined by the Lorentz force law and is, at each instant, perpendicular to both the motion of the charge and the force it experiences. There are two different, but closely related vector fields which are both sometimes called

14400-520: The force and torques between two magnets as due to magnetic poles repelling or attracting each other in the same manner as the Coulomb force between electric charges. At the microscopic level, this model contradicts the experimental evidence, and the pole model of magnetism is no longer the typical way to introduce the concept. However, it is still sometimes used as a macroscopic model for ferromagnetism due to its mathematical simplicity. In this model,

14544-408: The force on a small magnet having a magnetic moment m due to a magnetic field B is: F = ∇ ( m ⋅ B ) , {\displaystyle \mathbf {F} ={\boldsymbol {\nabla }}\left(\mathbf {m} \cdot \mathbf {B} \right),} where the gradient ∇ is the change of the quantity m · B per unit distance and the direction

14688-474: The force on the particle when its velocity is v ; repeat with v in some other direction. Now find a B that makes the Lorentz force law fit all these results—that is the magnetic field at the place in question. The B field can also be defined by the torque on a magnetic dipole, m . τ = m × B {\displaystyle {\boldsymbol {\tau }}=\mathbf {m} \times \mathbf {B} } The SI unit of B

14832-414: The four fundamental forces of nature. Magnetic fields are used throughout modern technology, particularly in electrical engineering and electromechanics . Rotating magnetic fields are used in both electric motors and generators . The interaction of magnetic fields in electric devices such as transformers is conceptualized and investigated as magnetic circuits . Magnetic forces give information about

14976-488: The gain medium from radiatively coupling. While polarisation in laboratory lasers and masers may be achieved by selectively oscillating the desired modes, polarisation in natural masers will arise only in the presence of a polarisation-state–dependent pump or of a magnetic field in the gain medium. The radiation from astrophysical masers can be quite weak and may escape detection due to the limited sensitivity, and relative remoteness, of astronomical observatories and due to

15120-583: The inner and outer radii limits roughly correspond to the density limits for maser operation. At the inner boundary, the collisions between molecules are enough to remove a population inversion. At the outer boundary, the density and optical depth is low enough that the gain of the maser is diminished. The hydroxyl masers are supported chemical pumping. At the distances where these masers are found water molecules are disassociated by UV radiation. Young stellar objects and (ultra)compact H II regions embedded in molecular clouds and giant molecular clouds , support

15264-422: The laser power inside the cavity; this equilibrium determines the operating point of the laser. If the applied pump power is too small, the gain will never be sufficient to overcome the cavity losses, and laser light will not be produced. The minimum pump power needed to begin laser action is called the lasing threshold . The gain medium will amplify any photons passing through it, regardless of direction; but only

15408-501: The lasing medium or pumping mechanism, then it is still classified as a "modulated" or "pulsed" continuous wave laser. Most laser diodes used in communication systems fall into that category. Some applications of lasers depend on a beam whose output power is constant over time. Such a laser is known as a continuous-wave ( CW ) laser. Many types of lasers can be made to operate in continuous-wave mode to satisfy such an application. Many of these lasers lase in several longitudinal modes at

15552-414: The latter case, the photon is emitted in the same direction as the light that is passing by. When the number of particles in one excited state exceeds the number of particles in some lower-energy state, population inversion is achieved. In this state, the rate of stimulated emission is larger than the rate of absorption of light in the medium, and therefore the light is amplified. A system with this property

15696-450: The linewidth of light emitted from the passive resonator. Some lasers use a separate injection seeder to start the process off with a beam that is already highly coherent. This can produce beams with a narrower spectrum than would otherwise be possible. In 1963, Roy J. Glauber showed that coherent states are formed from combinations of photon number states, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics . A coherent beam of light

15840-402: The literal cavity that would be employed at microwave frequencies in a maser . The resonator typically consists of two mirrors between which a coherent beam of light travels in both directions, reflecting on itself so that an average photon will pass through the gain medium repeatedly before it is emitted from the output aperture or lost to diffraction or absorption. If the gain (amplification) in

15984-432: The local density of field lines can be made proportional to its strength. Magnetic field lines are like streamlines in fluid flow , in that they represent a continuous distribution, and a different resolution would show more or fewer lines. An advantage of using magnetic field lines as a representation is that many laws of magnetism (and electromagnetism) can be stated completely and concisely using simple concepts such as

16128-763: The local direction of Earth's magnetic field. Field lines can be used as a qualitative tool to visualize magnetic forces. In ferromagnetic substances like iron and in plasmas, magnetic forces can be understood by imagining that the field lines exert a tension , (like a rubber band) along their length, and a pressure perpendicular to their length on neighboring field lines. "Unlike" poles of magnets attract because they are linked by many field lines; "like" poles repel because their field lines do not meet, but run parallel, pushing on each other. Permanent magnets are objects that produce their own persistent magnetic fields. They are made of ferromagnetic materials, such as iron and nickel , that have been magnetized, and they have both

16272-522: The lower level, emitting a new photon. The emitted photon exactly matches the original photon in wavelength, phase, and direction. This process is called stimulated emission. The gain medium is put into an excited state by an external source of energy. In most lasers, this medium consists of a population of atoms that have been excited into such a state using an outside light source, or an electrical field that supplies energy for atoms to absorb and be transformed into their excited states. The gain medium of

16416-465: The magnet is a result of adding up the forces on the individual dipoles. There are two simplified models for the nature of these dipoles: the magnetic pole model and the Amperian loop model . These two models produce two different magnetic fields, H and B . Outside a material, though, the two are identical (to a multiplicative constant) so that in many cases the distinction can be ignored. This

16560-413: The magnets due to magnetic torque. The force on each magnet depends on its magnetic moment and the magnetic field of the other. To understand the force between magnets, it is useful to examine the magnetic pole model given above. In this model, the H -field of one magnet pushes and pulls on both poles of a second magnet. If this H -field is the same at both poles of the second magnet then there

16704-412: The maximum possible level, the introduced loss mechanism (often an electro- or acousto-optical element) is rapidly removed (or that occurs by itself in a passive device), allowing lasing to begin which rapidly obtains the stored energy in the gain medium. This results in a short pulse incorporating that energy, and thus a high peak power. A mode-locked laser is capable of emitting extremely short pulses on

16848-498: The medium is larger than the resonator losses, then the power of the recirculating light can rise exponentially . But each stimulated emission event returns an atom from its excited state to the ground state, reducing the gain of the medium. With increasing beam power, the net gain (gain minus loss) reduces to unity and the gain medium is said to be saturated. In a continuous wave (CW) laser, the balance of pump power against gain saturation and cavity losses produces an equilibrium value of

16992-449: The motion of electrons within an atom are connected to those electrons' orbital magnetic dipole moment , and these orbital moments do contribute to the magnetism seen at the macroscopic level. However, the motion of electrons is not classical, and the spin magnetic moment of electrons (which is not explained by either model) is also a significant contribution to the total moment of magnets. Historically, early physics textbooks would model

17136-444: The north pole (whether inside the magnet or out) while near the south pole all H -field lines point toward the south pole (whether inside the magnet or out). Too, a north pole feels a force in the direction of the H -field while the force on the south pole is opposite to the H -field. In the magnetic pole model, the elementary magnetic dipole m is formed by two opposite magnetic poles of pole strength q m separated by

17280-404: The object is not random, however: it is stored by atoms and molecules in " excited states ", which release photons with distinct wavelengths. This gives rise to the science of spectroscopy , which allows materials to be determined through the specific wavelengths that they emit. The underlying physical process creating photons in a laser is the same as in thermal radiation, but the actual emission

17424-456: The order of tens of picoseconds down to less than 10  femtoseconds . These pulses repeat at the round-trip time, that is, the time that it takes light to complete one round trip between the mirrors comprising the resonator. Due to the Fourier limit (also known as energy–time uncertainty ), a pulse of such short temporal length has a spectrum spread over a considerable bandwidth. Thus such

17568-442: The particle and the magnetic field. The vector B is defined as the vector field necessary to make the Lorentz force law correctly describe the motion of a charged particle. In other words, [T]he command, "Measure the direction and magnitude of the vector B at such and such a place," calls for the following operations: Take a particle of known charge q . Measure the force on q at rest, to determine E . Then measure

17712-420: The particle's velocity , and × denotes the cross product . The direction of force on the charge can be determined by a mnemonic known as the right-hand rule (see the figure). Using the right hand, pointing the thumb in the direction of the current, and the fingers in the direction of the magnetic field, the resulting force on the charge points outwards from the palm. The force on a negatively charged particle

17856-435: The path length. Saturation of one transition in a maser can affect the degree of inversion in other transitions in the same maser, an effect known as competitive gain . The brightness temperature of a maser is the temperature a black body would have if producing the same emission brightness at the wavelength of the maser. That is, if an object had a temperature of about 10 K it would produce as much 1665-MHz radiation as

18000-418: The photons in a spatial mode supported by the resonator will pass more than once through the medium and receive substantial amplification. In most lasers, lasing begins with spontaneous emission into the lasing mode. This initial light is then amplified by stimulated emission in the gain medium. Stimulated emission produces light that matches the input signal in direction, wavelength, and polarization, whereas

18144-409: The power output is essentially continuous over time or whether its output takes the form of pulses of light on one or another time scale. Of course, even a laser whose output is normally continuous can be intentionally turned on and off at some rate to create pulses of light. When the modulation rate is on time scales much slower than the cavity lifetime and the period over which energy can be stored in

18288-410: The presence of insufficient feedback or unmet lasing threshold : that is, the users wish the system to behave as a laser. The emission from astrophysical masers is, in fact, ASE but is sometimes termed superradiant emission to differentiate it from the laboratory phenomenon. This simply adds to the confusion, since both sources are superradiant. In some laboratory lasers, such as a single pass through

18432-662: The properties of the emitted light, such as the polarization, wavelength, and shape of the beam. Electrons and how they interact with electromagnetic fields are important in our understanding of chemistry and physics . In the classical view , the energy of an electron orbiting an atomic nucleus is larger for orbits further from the nucleus of an atom . However, quantum mechanical effects force electrons to take on discrete positions in orbitals . Thus, electrons are found in specific energy levels of an atom, two of which are shown below: An electron in an atom can absorb energy from light ( photons ) or heat ( phonons ) only if there

18576-467: The radio spectrum. Particularly targeted are molecular clouds, OH-IR stars, and FIR active galaxies. The following species have been observed in stimulated emission from astronomical environments: The amplification or gain of radiation passing through a maser cloud is exponential. This has consequences for the radiation it produces: Small path differences across the irregularly shaped maser cloud become greatly distorted by exponential gain. Part of

18720-457: The relationship between the A coefficient , describing spontaneous emission, and the B coefficient which applies to absorption and stimulated emission. In the case of the free electron laser , atomic energy levels are not involved; it appears that the operation of this rather exotic device can be explained without reference to quantum mechanics . A laser can be classified as operating in either continuous or pulsed mode, depending on whether

18864-410: The same time, and beats between the slightly different optical frequencies of those oscillations will produce amplitude variations on time scales shorter than the round-trip time (the reciprocal of the frequency spacing between modes), typically a few nanoseconds or less. In most cases, these lasers are still termed "continuous-wave" as their output power is steady when averaged over longer periods, with

19008-469: The sky along with the material that is flowing out from the forming star(s). Also, since the emission is a narrow spectral line, line-of-sight velocity can be determined from the Doppler shift variation of the observed frequency of the maser, permitting a three-dimensional mapping of the dynamics of the maser environment. Perhaps the most spectacular success of this technique is the dynamical determination of

19152-487: The sometimes overwhelming spectral absorption from unpumped molecules of the maser species in the surrounding space. This latter obstacle may be partially surmounted through the judicious use of the spatial filtering inherent in interferometric techniques, especially very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). The study of masers provides valuable information on the conditions—temperature, density, magnetic field, and velocity—in environments of stellar birth and death and

19296-710: The study of conditions which are inaccessible in terrestrial laboratories. A global collaboration called the Maser Monitoring Organisation , colloquially known as the M2O, are one prominent group of researchers in this discipline. Maser variability is generally understood to mean the change in apparent brightness to the observer. Intensity variations can occur on timescales from days to years indicating limits on maser size and excitation scheme. However, masers change in various ways over various timescales. Masers in star-forming regions are known to move across

19440-405: The transverse size, spatial and temporal variations, and polarisation state, typically requiring VLBI telemetry, are all useful in the development of a pump theory. Galactic formaldehyde masing is one such example that remains problematic. On the other hand, some masers have been predicted to occur theoretically but have yet to be observed in nature. For example, the magnetic dipole transitions of

19584-425: The two mirrors, the output coupler , is partially transparent. Some of the light escapes through this mirror. Depending on the design of the cavity (whether the mirrors are flat or curved ), the light coming out of the laser may spread out or form a narrow beam . In analogy to electronic oscillators , this device is sometimes called a laser oscillator . Most practical lasers contain additional elements that affect

19728-420: The use of the word microwave to frequencies between roughly 1  GHz and 300 GHz; that is, wavelengths between 30 cm and 1 mm, respectively. The simple existence of a pumped population inversion is not sufficient for the observation of a maser. For example, there must be velocity coherence along the line of sight so that Doppler shifting does not prevent inverted states in different parts of

19872-401: The vector that, when used in the Lorentz force law , correctly predicts the force on a charged particle at that point: F = q E + q ( v × B ) {\displaystyle \mathbf {F} =q\mathbf {E} +q(\mathbf {v} \times \mathbf {B} )} Here F is the force on the particle, q is the particle's electric charge , v , is

20016-410: The very high-frequency power variations having little or no impact on the intended application. (However, the term is not applied to mode-locked lasers, where the intention is to create very short pulses at the rate of the round-trip time.) For continuous-wave operation, the population inversion of the gain medium needs to be continually replenished by a steady pump source. In some lasing media, this

20160-421: Was built in 1960 by Theodore Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories , based on theoretical work by Charles H. Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow . A laser differs from other sources of light in that it emits light that is coherent . Spatial coherence allows a laser to be focused to a tight spot, enabling applications such as optical communication, laser cutting , and lithography . It also allows

20304-598: Was called a maser , for "microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". When similar optical devices were developed they were first called optical masers , until "microwave" was replaced by "light" in the acronym, to become laser . Today, all such devices operating at frequencies higher than microwaves (approximately above 300 GHz ) are called lasers (e.g. infrared lasers , ultraviolet lasers , X-ray lasers , gamma-ray lasers ), whereas devices operating at microwave or lower radio frequencies are called masers. The back-formed verb " to lase "

20448-519: Was discovered in 1995 emanating from the star MWC 349A, using NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory . Evidence for an anti-pumped ( dasar ) sub-thermal population in the 4830 MHz transition of formaldehyde (H 2 CO) was observed in 1969 by Palmer et al. The connections of maser activity with far infrared (FIR) emission has been used to conduct searches of the sky with optical telescopes (because optical telescopes are easier to use for searches of this kind), and likely objects are then checked in

20592-574: Was hydroxide emission in 1968, then water emission in 1969 and silicon monoxide emission in 1974. Masers were discovered in external galaxies in 1973, and in the Solar System in comet halos. Another unexpected discovery was made in 1982 with the discovery of emission from an extra-galactic source with an unrivalled luminosity about 10 times larger than any previous source. This was termed a megamaser because of its great luminosity; many more megamasers have since been discovered. A weak disk maser

20736-464: Was intentionally disregarded by the laser community in the early years of the technology. This fundamental incongruency in language has resulted in the use of other paradoxical definitions in the field. For example, if the gain medium of a misaligned laser is emission-seeded but non-oscillating radiation, it is said to emit amplified spontaneous emission or ASE . This ASE is regarded as unwanted or parasitic. Some researchers would add to this definition

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