IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more. This is a ruby crystal from Theodore ...

1960: Physicist Theodore Maiman uses a synthetic-ruby crystal to create the first laser. Maiman began tinkering with electronic devices in his teens and even earned college money repairing appliances ...

Light's shadow: Researchers showed that a laser beam can sometimes act like a solid object and cast a shadow that is visible to the naked eye. In the picture, the shadow appears as the horizontal line ...

In 1960, Theodore H. Maiman's experiment at Hughes Research Laboratories produced the first laser beam using a ruby crystal and flashlamp. This groundbreaking achievement revolutionized medicine with ...