Theodore Harold Maiman (1927-2007)
The above image shows a schematic of Maiman's first laser. The Flash Bulb acted as the energy (pumping) source, which transferred energy into the red ruby crystal (gain medium). This energy "pumps" the majority of atoms into a higher energy state, eventually producing photons. These bounce back and forth between the fully reflective mirror and the partially reflective output coupler, producing more and more photons with each pass (amplification). Eventually a fraction of photons passes through the output coupler, forming the laser beam
Dr. Robert Gougaloff (left) with Kathleen Maiman holding a model of her late husband's prototype and Dr. Fred Stalley (right)
Maiman published his results in the British weekly
Nature in August 1960. Some physicists, however, downplayed the significance of Maiman’s discovery, largely because he made this discovery in such a short period of time after he received his Ph.D., which he received in 1955. Many thought that he did not give this kind of discovery its due diligence in time.
Regardless, his discovery started a snowball effect in the development of lasers. Within a short period of time more and more lasers with different wavelengths and hardware profiles would be developed, some of which eventually found their way into dentistry.
In on May 16,1960, while working at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California, he built the very first functioning laser.
Maiman used a solid-state flash lamp-pumped synthetic ruby crystal to produce laser light at 694 nanometers wavelength. This wavelength still falls into the visible spectrum of electromagnetic radiation and thus the laser produced a visible red beam. Maiman's laser used ruby crystal as a gain medium, which has a high chromium content, and absorbs green and blue light while emitting red light. By flashing white light into a cylinder of ruby, Maiman energized the electrons in the chromium. The energized green and blue wavelengths were absorbed and then amplified the red wavelengths until the light pulse of the ruby was amplified to high power, resulting in a laser.
Born on July 11, 1927 in Los Angeles, California, Theodore Maiman's early affinity towards any kind of electrical equipment or appliance eventually earned him a degree in engineering physics from the University of Colorado. After that he began his graduate work at Stanford University, where he eventually earned his Masters degree in electrical engineering and his Ph.D. in physics four years later.
Theodore Harold (Ted) Maiman
