theodore mainman

…

…the helium-neon laser, electrons emit light by jumping to a lower excited state, forming a new atomic population that does not absorb laser light, rather than to the ground state. His colleagues at Hughes Laboratory thought his optic laser was an interesting physics experiment that might someday have an application in communications. What they did not realize was that Maiman had also the first opening shot in revolutionizing surgery and the computer and entertainment industries.