Robert A. Convissar, ed., The Dental Clinics of North America: Lasers and Light Amplification in Dentistry. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 2000. A collection of detailed, scholarly essays on various aspects of laser-based dental procedures.
Jeff Hecht, City of Light: The Story of Fiber Optics. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. An excellent summary of fiber-optics technology.
Breck Hitz et al., Introduction to Laser Technology. New York: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2001. An advanced technical overview of lasers, including how they work and the configuration and uses of different types of lasers.
Clifford L. Lawrence, The Laser Book—A New Technology of Light. New York: Prentice-Hall, 1986. Though dated in some of its details, this remains a useful general introduction to lasers.
John F. Ready, Industrial Applications of Lasers. San Diego: Academic Press, 1997. A detailed, scholarly discussion of laser use in welding, drilling, cutting, surface treatment, holography, fiber optics, and more.
Thomas G. Smith, Industrial Light and Magic: The Art of Special Effects. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991. An excellent synopsis of special effects for movies created by the leading special effects house in Hollywood.
Myron L. Wolbarsht, Laser Applications in Medicine and Biology. London: Plenum, 2000. A detailed, scholarly discussion of the use of laser technology for surgery and biological research.
C. Booth, "Cosmetic Surgery: Light Makes Right," Time, October 11, 1999. Discusses using laser beams to eliminate wrinkles and perform other kinds of cosmetic surgery.
R.J. Newman, "The New Space Race," U.S. News & World Report, November 8, 1999. How advanced high-power lasers will fit into the "Star Wars" missile defenses proposed by some U.S. leaders.
R. Saltus, "Zap! Clearer Vision, Healthier Teeth," Good Housekeeping, October 1998. A brief overview of the use of lasers in eye surgery and dentistry.
R.F. Service, "Lighting the Way to a Quantum Computer," Science, June 29, 2001. The possibility of computers that will run via photons or pulses of laser light is discussed here.
B.A. Smith, "Thel Laser Kills Short-Range Missile," Aviation Week and Space Technology, June 12, 2000. New advances in military lasers.
C. Trumble, "Fiber Optics sans the Fiber," Smart Computing, August 2000. Possible creation of fiber-optic technology using airborne, rather than cable-borne, lasers.
American Society of Plastic Surgeons, "Lasers in Plastic Surgery," Plastic Surgery Information Service, accessed November 27, 2001. www.plasticsurgery.org . An overview of the basic techniques of plastic surgery using laser beams, including "resurfacing" to eliminate wrinkles.
Tim Beardsley, "Making Light Work," Scientific American, August 1997. www.sciam.com . Explains how lasers can be used to make precision metal parts.
Michael Berns, "Laser Scissors and Tweezers," Scientific American, April 1998. www.sciam.com . Tells how scientists use lasers both to hold microscopic objects and to manipulate them.
Ching-Wu Chu, "Laser," Microsoft Encarta, 2001. http://encarta.msn.com . A general synopsis of laser operation and applications.
Rich D'Ambrise, "A Closer Look at DVD," Maxell Corporation of America, accessed December 6, 2001. www.cd-info.com . A straightforward explanation of the difference between CD and DVD technology, both of which employ lasers.
Andrew Gannon, "Lasers Split the Atom," Focus, January 21, 2000. http://focus.aps.org . Explains recent breakthroughs that will allow scientists to use lasers in conducting new kinds of nuclear physics experiments.
Corey Grice, "Lasers Beat Bandwidth Bottleneck," ZDNet News, February 22, 2001. www.zdnet.com . Discusses efforts to use lasers to increase the amount of information carried by optical wireless technology.
David Harris, "All About Lasers," About: The Human Internet, accessed November 27, 2001. http://physics.about.com . A very lucid explanation of the workings of lasers, supplemented by several colorful, informative diagrams by the author.
Murray McFadden, "Laser Eye Surgery," LASIK & PRK Today, October 23, 2000. www.prk.com . Lists a wide range of sources providing information on the latest developments in laser eye surgery.
Jeffrey Melton, "Freckle Removal by Laser" and "Laser Hair Removal," University of Chicago, Department of Dermatology, accessed November 27, 2001. www.drmelton.com . Two among several articles posted by the University of Chicago explaining various medical/cosmetic uses of lasers.
National Academy of Engineers, "Laser and Fiber Optics," December 2000. www.greatachievements.org . An easy-to-read general synopsis of the history and present uses of laser fiber optics.
Dieter Schuocker, "Lasers: An Overview," Nonconventional Processing, Forming, and Laser Technology, accessed December 3, 2001. www.argelas.org . A general, scholarly synopsis of laser construction and operation.
J.P. Talbot, "Lasers in the Movies Reality Check: Science vs. Science Fiction," Laser Stars, accessed December 5, 2001. http://home.achilles.net . An informative examination of frequent misconceptions about lasers due to their often inaccurate depiction in science fiction films.
John A. Tirpack, "Military Lasers High and Low," Air Force Magazine, September 1999. www.afa.org . A clearly written overview of proposed airborne laser weapons.
David Voss, "Upstream: Silicon Lasers," Technology Review, June 2001. www.techreview.com . Talks about new uses of lasers in silicon chip technology for computers and other devices.
David R. Whitehouse, "Understanding CO2 Lasers," Raytheon Advanced Laser Development Center, accessed November 27, 2001. www.laserk.com . A fairly detailed summary of the CO2 laser and its operation.
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