
Theodore H. Maiman
Wolf Prize Laureate in Physics 1983/4

The Physics Prize Committee for 1983/4 has unanimously chosen the following three candidates to equally share the award for their distinct pioneering contributions in the field of experimental condensed matter physics: Sir Peter Hirsch ,Erwin L. Hahn and Theodore H. Maiman.
Theodore H. Maiman
Maiman Associates
Marina del Rey, California, USA
“for his realization of the first operating laser, the pulsed three level ruby laser.”
Dr. Theodore H. Maiman. The impact of lasers on many technological fields is well known. They are used, for example, as cutting tools in metallurgical and textile industry, as scalpels in surgery, as alignment devices in the construction industry, as length and frequency standards in scientific applications. The original ruby laser of Maiman was instrumental in establishing the new sub field of non-linear optics, which explores the properties of matter at extremely high light intensities. It has also been used in ranging experiments to measure the earth-moon distance with retro-reflectors set-up by the moon astronauts.
