Final answer:
The acronym laser stands for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, marking its relation to advanced quantum physics. The first operative laser was created in 1960, and since then, various types of lasers have been developed for multiple wavelengths. Lasers work by inducing a population inversion and using mirrors to amplify light within the lasing material.
Step-by-step explanation:
The acronym laser stands for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. This process was significant in the field of quantum physics and led to the development of devices that could produce focused, coherent beams of light. The initial work that paved the way for laser technology was recognized with a Nobel Prize in 1964, shared by Charles Townes, Nikolay Basov, and Aleksandr Prokhorov. The earlier devices were known as masers, which produced microwaves, but the first working laser, which produced visible light, was built in 1960. Over the years, lasers have been developed to produce radiation at various wavelengths, including microwave, infrared, visible, and ultraviolet. They function by exciting atoms or molecules to a metastable state, facilitating a population inversion which is necessary for stimulated emission. By using mirrors, one of which is semitransparent, the emitted light is amplified as it passes multiple times through the lasing material with only about 1% of the light escaping as useful laser output.