Laser physics

by Murray Sargent

This book treats the interaction of radiation with matter, particular attention being paid to the laser. Knowledge is assumed of the usual half-year introduction of quantum mechanics found in undergraduate physics curricula. The material can be covered in two semesters, or, alternatively, the first part (Chaps 1-13) can be used as a one-semester course in which quantum mechanical aspects of the electromagnetic field are ignored. Each chapter is accompanied by problems that illustrate the text and give useful (occasionally new) results. Existing laser media are intrinsically quantum mechanical and are most easily studied with the quantum theory. Understanding the laser along these lines enlivens one's understanding of quantum mechanics itself. In fact, the material constitutes a viable, applied alternative for the usual second and third semesters of quantum mechanics.

Genres: Physics

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Murray Sargent III (18 August 1941, New York City) is an American physicist who focuses on laser physics and software engineering.

Sargent studied at Yale University. From 1967 to 1969 he was at the Bell Laboratories as a postdoctoral fellow. Since 1969 he has been at the University of Arizona, first in 1969 as an Assistant Professor in the computer science faculty, then in 1972 as an Associate Professor, and from 1977 as a Professor of optics. In 2002 he became Professor Emeritus.