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Lasers: Invention to application
Optics and Lasers in Engineering 11 (1989) 137—140
Book Reviews Lasers: Invention to Application. Edited by J. H. Ausubel & H. D. Langford. National Academy Press, 1987. 134 pp. ISBN 0-309-03776-X. Price: US $14~95. This publication has arisen out of a 1985 symposium, organized by the National Academy of Engineering, to celebrate the 25th aniversary of the invention of the laser. it is stated that the aim of the book is to capture the essence of this meeting and bring the excitement and intensity of the laser story to a broader audience. The book contains six chapters of widely differing length, each by a prominent scientist. The chapter on lasers in communications and information processing is by far the longest and most detailed and does bring out something of the exciting interaction of semiconductor laser development and other technologies to form the latest lightwave communication systems. The chapter considers the characteristics and recent developments of optical fibres and semiconductor detectors in appendices, allowing for a very readable main body. Other chapters in the book describe lasers in medicine and lasers in modern industries with five pages devoted to a chapter on lasers in science. The remaining chapters cover the history of the laser, its properties and some recent developments. In general, the book is easy to read, although some chapters assume more familiarity with the relevant terminology than others, and gives a clear picture of the many and disparate uses to which the laser has been put. However, in attempting to describe as many of the accomplishments of the laser as possible, Lasers: Invention to Application, in parts does little more than list them. S. A. Boothroyd Radiometric System Design. By Clair L. Wyatt, Macmillan, 1987. 300 pp. ISBN 0-02-948800-1. Price: £45. This is an ambitious book, since its aim is to serve both as a basic textbook in radiometry, and as a manual for the design of radiometric systems; it must be said that the author has largely been successful. She has created a rather pleasant book that has much to offer both to 137 Optics and Lasers in Engineering (11) (1989) England. Printed in Northern Ireland
© 1989
Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd,
Book Reviews Lasers: Invention to Application. Edited by J. H. Ausubel & H. D. Langford. National Academy Press, 1987. 134 pp. ISBN 0-309-03776-X. Price: US $14~95. This publication has arisen out of a 1985 symposium, organized by the National Academy of Engineering, to celebrate the 25th aniversary of the invention of the laser. it is stated that the aim of the book is to capture the essence of this meeting and bring the excitement and intensity of the laser story to a broader audience. The book contains six chapters of widely differing length, each by a prominent scientist. The chapter on lasers in communications and information processing is by far the longest and most detailed and does bring out something of the exciting interaction of semiconductor laser development and other technologies to form the latest lightwave communication systems. The chapter considers the characteristics and recent developments of optical fibres and semiconductor detectors in appendices, allowing for a very readable main body. Other chapters in the book describe lasers in medicine and lasers in modern industries with five pages devoted to a chapter on lasers in science. The remaining chapters cover the history of the laser, its properties and some recent developments. In general, the book is easy to read, although some chapters assume more familiarity with the relevant terminology than others, and gives a clear picture of the many and disparate uses to which the laser has been put. However, in attempting to describe as many of the accomplishments of the laser as possible, Lasers: Invention to Application, in parts does little more than list them. S. A. Boothroyd Radiometric System Design. By Clair L. Wyatt, Macmillan, 1987. 300 pp. ISBN 0-02-948800-1. Price: £45. This is an ambitious book, since its aim is to serve both as a basic textbook in radiometry, and as a manual for the design of radiometric systems; it must be said that the author has largely been successful. She has created a rather pleasant book that has much to offer both to 137 Optics and Lasers in Engineering (11) (1989) England. Printed in Northern Ireland
© 1989
Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd,