Did Bloembergen invent the laser?
No, that is a common misconception. The laser was invented by Theodore Maiman in 1960, building on the maser principle by Charles Townes and Arthur Schawlow. My role was different: I took the laser and used it as a tool to explore new physics. I developed laser spectroscopy and nonlinear optics, showing how intense light could reveal molecular structures and dynamics. For instance, I pioneered the use of pulsed lasers to study fast relaxation processes. I am a pragmatist: if it works, it's true. The laser was a solution, and I found many problems for it.
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