Beginning of Essay
The idea for the laser started as long ago as 1905 when Albert Einstein suggested the simulated emission of light. Light sources ie. candles, florescent substances, torches, and light bulbs give of packets of energy, called photons, when their atoms are excited by ....

Middle of Essay
.... by stimulated emission of radiation). The maser amplifies the number of photons that cause microwaves. After the invention of the maser many scientists became interested in the idea of building an optical maser, which soon received the name laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation). Townes paired with Arthur Schawlow, two Soviets, Nikolai Basov and Aleksander Prokhorov, as well as Gordon Gould were all interested in developing a light-amplifying device. All of them knew that there were three essential ingredients in making a laser; a florescent material that would emit light when stimulated by radiation from an externa ....