Masers and Lasers: An Historical Approach examines the progress of research and practical use of lasers chronologically, covering the fundamental science in detail alongside fascinating biographical sketches of famous physicists and summaries of seminal papers. It supplies helpful drawings of prototype devices, conceptual diagrams to aid in underst

Mario Bertolotti received his degree in physics from the University of Roma, Italy, and was full professor of physics and optics for the Engineering Faculty of the University of Roma "La Sapienza", Italy from 1970 until 2008. He is the author of more than 500 peer-reviewed publications. A major part of his research has been in lasers and their applications, as well as nonlinear optics and nano-optics. He is an elected fellow of the Institute of Physics, Optical Society of America, European Optical Society, Italian Physical Society, and Italian Society of Optics and Photonics, of which he was also the president.

Introduction. Stimulated Emission: Could the Laser have been Built More than 80 Years Ago? Intermezzo: Magnetic Resonance and Optical Pumping. The Maser. The Laser. The First Lasers. Laser Properties and Progresses in Novel Lasers. Nonlinear Optics. More Exotic Lasers. The Statistical Properties of Light.