Beam; the race to make the laser.TA1677 2004-002694 0-19-514210-1 Beam; the race to make the laser. Hecht, Jeff. Oxford U. Press, [c]2005 274 p. $29.95 While some researchers sought fame and prestige at their Bell Telephone laboratory, others worked in secret on a military contract, and still others, basically one pair of decidedly dark horses, toiled on an heretical he·ret·i·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to heresy or heretics. 2. Characterized by, revealing, or approaching departure from established beliefs or standards. idea in a small space at Hughes Research Laboratories In the 1940's, Howard Hughes created a R&D facility in Culver City, California; by the early 1960's, it had been moved to Malibu, California. Through a series of business transactions, it was brought under the ownership of Boeing and General Motors, its LLC partners. . When the right light finally appeared to the pair at Hughes, pulsing red at a rate even the one who was color-blind col·or·blind or col·or-blind adj. 1. Partially or totally unable to distinguish certain colors. 2. a. Not subject to racial prejudices. b. could dimly see, they knew they had the first ruby laser ruby laser Dermatology A high-speed laser used for hair removal and permanent hair reduction over large areas of the body. See Laser. ; what is more, they had it on their first try. It was 1960, and theirs was the culmination of years of theoretical and applied research. Journalist Hecht describes these very different paths leading to the laser, the people in the teams and their approaches, the debates between and amidst a·midst prep. Variant of amid. [Middle English amiddes : amidde; see amid + -es, adverbial suffix; see -s3.] teams, and the fight for the two dark horses to get recognition. Hecht includes a number of period photographs. |
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