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An acronym for "microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation." The first operational maser was
constructed by Townes  in 1954. This device, when pumped with a weak microwave beam, produced a cascade of
transitions in ammonia molecules, reinforcing the beam. This device was the forerunner of the laser, invented by
Maiman in 1960. The first continuous maser was designed by Bloembergen (1956). Masers have
subsequently been detected in space, and several hundred were known as of 1995.
 Laser
Bertolotti, M. Masers and Lasers: An Historical Approach. Bristol: A. Hilger, 1983.
Bloembergen, N. Phys. Rev. 104, 324, 1956.
Gordon, J. P.; Zeiger, H. J.; and Townes, C. H. Phys. Rev. 95, 282, 1954.
Klein, A. Masers and Lasers. 1971.
Talbot, J. "Microwave Laser." http://www.achilles.net/~jtalbot/history/ammonia.html.
Talbot, J. "Naturally Occurring Microwave Lasers." http://www.achilles.net/~jtalbot/history/hydroxyl.html.
 Weisstein, E. W. "Books about Lasers."
http://www.ericweisstein.com/encyclopedias/books/Lasers.html.
© 1996-2007 Eric W. Weisstein
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