From Laser Pionier to Laser Pointer

When Theodore Maiman presented the first functioning laser to the world public in 1960, people had only vague ideas about the areas of application that the highly focused, high-intensity light could one day penetrate. While the daily press luridly speculated on the realization of a dangerous "ray gun" familiar from science fiction stories, experts described the new development both appreciatively and skeptically as a solution to problems that had yet to be found.

But the triumphant advance of the newly acquired light tool soon began. Today, it is impossible to imagine everyday life without the laser. We encounter it every day as a barcode scanner in the supermarket, our cash cards are adorned with laser-produced holograms, and laser pointers have replaced the fescue. Whether in consumer electronics, communications, measurement technology, industry, medicine or research. Lasers are used everywhere. And not only on earth, but also in space exploration.

But the possibilities of this source of light are far from exhausted. That is why experts call the 21st century the century of the photon and thus the century of the smallest light particle.