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The Laser: A Light Fantastic (Walter Cronkite, The 21st Century, CBS News, 1968)






Thanks for posting that...
Man.. that was a while ago...
Good old Walter... I loved his voice..

Jerry
 
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That was a good flick. They even popped balloons back then;) Thanks for sharing!
 
This is a great clip, thanks! I've had a hard time finding any laser documentaries online, and this was cool and interesting to see lasers from a 1960's perspective. I liked the cutting edge futuristic uses he listed for the development of a miniaturized laser like using it for erasing letters printed by a typewriter on paper. :p

I wonder what kind of laser wavelength was used to melt the granite and burn through the wood pieces. Would it be in the IR range? There didn't seem to be a visible beam at all. I couldn't believe it when I saw the wood get a hole vaporized through it instantly like that I had to watch it a few times over!

I was surprised by those scientists at how casual they seemed with the huge gaps in the sides of their laser glasses while blasting through the wood with that powerful of a laser. Do you think they would have been protected well enough? :thinking:
 
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I found the time to sit down and watched this today.

It's the first laser documentary I've seen. I love the 'small laser' sitting on the guys desk and the 'portable laser gun' he had.

What laser would have been used to cut through the diamond though? UV?

it's also amazing to think how long they've really been using lasers for eye surgery.

Lase
 
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I watched that episode a couple of times as a kid and I always wanted to see it again from an adult perspective. I think that show, the first NatGeo laser article and the SciAm "Amateur Scientist" articles were what got me interested in laser technology.
 
brendon7358 said:
Anyone else just want to go back in time and show them a 1W 445nm ? lol
Click to expand...


That would be awesome!

I would show them a 1W 445NM Laser and then play the hugest jackpot in history!

We have a Winner!! LOL

Of course you would be rich going back in time and showing them that technology!

It might upset the universe...
 
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ElectroMagneticFreak said:
This is a great clip, thanks! I've had a hard time finding any laser documentaries online, and this was cool and interesting to see lasers from a 1960's perspective. I liked the cutting edge futuristic uses he listed for the development of a miniaturized laser like using it for erasing letters printed by a typewriter on paper. :p

I wonder what kind of laser wavelength was used to melt the granite and burn through the wood pieces. Would it be in the IR range? There didn't seem to be a visible beam at all. I couldn't believe it when I saw the wood get a hole vaporized through it instantly like that I had to watch it a few times over!

I was surprised by those scientists at how casual they seemed with the huge gaps in the sides of their laser glasses while blasting through the wood with that powerful of a laser. Do you think they would have been protected well enough? :thinking:
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure those lasers were IR, one looked like a big CO2 unit. Like other emerging technologies, they didn't always get the safety part right in the beginning... :eek:
 
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