The Laser That's Changing the World

The Laser That's Changing the World PDF Author: Todd Neff
Publisher:
ISBN: 163388466X
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Tells the story of a laser technology that will have a big impact on society and the brilliant innovators responsible for its developmentLidar--a technology evolved from radar, but using laser light rather than microwaves--has found an astounding range of applications, none more prominent than its crucial role in enabling self-driving cars. This accessible introduction to a fascinating and increasingly vital technology focuses on the engaging human stories of lidar's innovators as they advance and adapt it to better understand air, water, ice and Earth - not to mention mapping Mars and Mercury, spotting incoming nuclear warheads, and avoiding pedestrians and cyclists on city streets.Award-winning science writer Todd Neff invites readers behind the scenes to meet some of the great innovators who have explored and expanded the uses of this amazing technology: people like MIT scientist Louis Smullin, whose lidar bounced light off the moon soon after the laser's invention; Allan Carswell, who plumbed the shallows of Lake Erie en route to developing the aerial lidar now essential for coastal mapping and hurricane damage assessment; Red Whittaker, the field robotics pioneer who was putting lidar on his autonomous contraptions as early as the 1980s; and David Hall, whose laser sombrero on a Toyota Tundra gave birth to modern automotive lidar.These are just some of the stories Neff tells before looking ahead to a future that could bring lidar to unpiloted air taxis, to the contaminated pipes of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, and to satellites capable of pinpointing greenhouse gas sources from orbit. As the author makes clear, the sky is no limit with lidar, which promises to make our world safer, healthier, and vastly more interesting.

The Laser That's Changing the World

The Laser That's Changing the World PDF Author: Todd Neff
Publisher:
ISBN: 163388466X
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 316

Get Book Here

Book Description
Tells the story of a laser technology that will have a big impact on society and the brilliant innovators responsible for its developmentLidar--a technology evolved from radar, but using laser light rather than microwaves--has found an astounding range of applications, none more prominent than its crucial role in enabling self-driving cars. This accessible introduction to a fascinating and increasingly vital technology focuses on the engaging human stories of lidar's innovators as they advance and adapt it to better understand air, water, ice and Earth - not to mention mapping Mars and Mercury, spotting incoming nuclear warheads, and avoiding pedestrians and cyclists on city streets.Award-winning science writer Todd Neff invites readers behind the scenes to meet some of the great innovators who have explored and expanded the uses of this amazing technology: people like MIT scientist Louis Smullin, whose lidar bounced light off the moon soon after the laser's invention; Allan Carswell, who plumbed the shallows of Lake Erie en route to developing the aerial lidar now essential for coastal mapping and hurricane damage assessment; Red Whittaker, the field robotics pioneer who was putting lidar on his autonomous contraptions as early as the 1980s; and David Hall, whose laser sombrero on a Toyota Tundra gave birth to modern automotive lidar.These are just some of the stories Neff tells before looking ahead to a future that could bring lidar to unpiloted air taxis, to the contaminated pipes of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, and to satellites capable of pinpointing greenhouse gas sources from orbit. As the author makes clear, the sky is no limit with lidar, which promises to make our world safer, healthier, and vastly more interesting.

Laser

Laser PDF Author: Nick Taylor
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0743213211
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
The fascinating true story of Gordon Gould's successful thirty-year struggle to assert himself as the rightful inventor of the laser -- and a myth-shattering, behind-the-scenes account of the American patent process.The insight struck Gould with the force of revelation. He sat bolt upright in bed, marveling at its perfection. Soon he was at his desk, writing at the top of a page in his laboratory notebook, "Some rough calculations on the feasibility of a "Laser": Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation."So began the invention of the laser in 1957, a machine that changed industry, medicine and science, and much of modern life. Gordon Gould was a graduate student with a checkered past and a yen to invent, but he had a blind spot when it came to patent rights. And when a respected professor with an office next to Gould's electrified the scientific world with his own claims on the laser, Gould was in for the fight of a lifetime.For the next thirty years, Gould battled the U.S. Patent Office and manufacturers to enforce his rights as the laser's inventor. Rebuffed, he was even denied security clearance to work on his own in

The Laser Inventor

The Laser Inventor PDF Author: Theodore H. Maiman
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319619403
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
In these engaging memoirs of a maverick, Theodore H. Maiman describes the life events leading to his invention of the laser in 1960. Maiman succeeded using his expertise in physics and engineering along with an ingenious and elegant design not anticipated by others. His pink ruby laser produced mankind’s first-ever coherent light and has provided transformational technology for commerce, industry, telecom, the Internet, medicine, and all the sciences. Maiman also chronicles the resistance from his employer and the ongoing intrigue by competing researchers in industry and academia seeking to diminish his contribution in inventing the first laser. This work will appeal to a wide readership, from physicists and engineers through science enthusiasts to general readers. The volume includes extensive photos and documentary materials related to Maiman’s life and accomplishments never before published. "No one beat Maiman to the laser. How important is the laser? How important are all lasers? That is how important we have to regard Maiman’s contribution.He and the laser changed all of our lives, everyone’s!"Dr. Nick Holonyak, Jr., Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics, University of Illinois at Champaigne-Urbana, and inventor of the light-emitting diode (LED) and co-inventor of the transistor laser "More than five decades later, we can safely conclude that Theodore Maiman's groundbreaking discovery changed the world. Our modern life just as scientific research would be quite different without the laser."Dr. Ferenc Krausz, Director, Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Garching, Germany, and Professor of Physics, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, and pioneer in attosecond lasers and attophysics "Maiman had the stroke of genius needed to take a different approach [from his competitors]. The sheer elegance and simplicity of his design belies the intellectual achievement it represents. If his invention seems obvious to some today, it was far from obvious in 1960."Jeff Hecht, authoritative science writer on the historical development of the laser, author of books on lasers and fiber optics

Change Intelligence

Change Intelligence PDF Author: Barbara A. Trautlein
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
ISBN: 1608324427
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
In the world of business, the ability to handle constant change makes the difference between success and failure. Today, executives, supervisors, and project managers have plenty of methodologies for managing change, yet the failure rate of major organizational change is still an abysmal 70 percent. In this innovative guide, Barbara Trautlein argues that this is because our current approaches are inadequate when not used in tandem with a deep understanding of change intelligence, or CQ the skill set required to lead a team or company through vital transformations. Inside, she gives readers access to a proprietary, interactive CQ assessment that s based on substantial research and experience in working with hundreds of top organizations. And after readers learn their own change leader style, they go on to discover practical strategies for leveraging their strengths and shoring up their weak spots. Trautlein, a leading authority on change leadership, keeps the theory light and delves into insightful case studies drawn from her decades of experience. Her example-based approach allows readers to plainly see how they can start driving real transformation not by adopting yet another new tool but by bolstering their own capacity for change leadership. "

Good Omens

Good Omens PDF Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061991120
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
The classic collaboration from the internationally bestselling authors Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, soon to be an original series starring Michael Sheen and David Tennant. ?Season 2 of Good Omens coming soon! “Good Omens . . . is something like what would have happened if Thomas Pynchon, Tom Robbins and Don DeLillo had collaborated. Lots of literary inventiveness in the plotting and chunks of very good writing and characterization. It’s a wow. It would make one hell of a movie. Or a heavenly one. Take your pick.” —Washington Post According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world's only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner. So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth's mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture. And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist . . .

A Century of Nature

A Century of Nature PDF Author: Laura Garwin
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226284166
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 381

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Book Description
Many of the scientific breakthroughs of the twentieth century were first reported in the journal Nature. A Century of Nature brings together in one volume Nature's greatest hits—reproductions of seminal contributions that changed science and the world, accompanied by essays written by leading scientists (including four Nobel laureates) that provide historical context for each article, explain its insights in graceful, accessible prose, and celebrate the serendipity of discovery and the rewards of searching for needles in haystacks.

Focus Like a Laser Beam

Focus Like a Laser Beam PDF Author: Lisa L. Haneberg
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 111804102X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
In Focus Like a Laser Beam, acclaimed management consultant and business blogger Lisa Haneberg offers business leaders a new way to direct their focus that, like a laser beam, is direct, fast, and on track. The book offers leaders ways to improve energy and engagement in the workplace and redirect how people communicate at work. Focus Like a Laser Beam is filled with useful suggestions for dealing with distractions and diversions and outlines the ten practices that will help leaders focus on what’s most important. Know and feel the power of laser focus Get connected with your employees Have fun and be fun Relax to energize Turn meetings into focus sessions Invite a challenge Huddle Stop multitasking and put your focus where it belongs Do one great thing Let go of outdated goals, projects, and tasks

Stuff Matters

Stuff Matters PDF Author: Mark Miodownik
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0544236041
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
An eye-opening adventure deep inside the everyday materials that surround us, from concrete and steel to denim and chocolate, packed with surprising stories and fascinating science.

How We Got to Now

How We Got to Now PDF Author: Steven Johnson
Publisher: Riverhead Books
ISBN: 1594633932
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
This book is a celebration of ideas: how they happen and their sometimes unintended results. Johnson shows how simple scientific breakthroughs have driven other discoveries through the network of ideas and innovations that made each finding possible. He traces important inventions through ancient and contemporary history, unlocking tales of unsung heroes and radical revolutions that changed the world and the way we live in it

2 Billion Under 20

2 Billion Under 20 PDF Author: Jared Kleinert
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1250067618
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
An exciting look at 75 contributors under age 20 who have done remarkable things, from entrepreneurship to athletics to music and more.