On May 16th in science history, a significant event took place in 1960. This was the day when Theodore Maiman, a physicist at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California, successfully operated the world's first laser.

Maiman's laser was a ruby laser, which used a synthetic ruby crystal as its gain medium. The crystal was fashioned into a cylinder and had its ends coated with silver to make them reflective. This formed a Fabry-Pérot cavity, a type of optical resonator. The ruby was then illuminated with high-intensity light from a flashtube, a type of lamp used in photography.

Under these conditions, the chromium atoms in the ruby were excited, releasing photons. The photons bounced back and forth between the mirrored ends of the ruby crystal, stimulating the emission of more photons with the same wavelength and phase. This process of light amplification eventually built up to a point where a bright, coherent beam of red light at 694 nanometers burst through one of the semi-transparent ends of the ruby crystal.

Maiman's achievement built upon theoretical work by Charles Hard Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow, who had described the principles of laser operation in a 1958 paper. However, Maiman's successful demonstration was a significant practical breakthrough.

The word "laser" is an acronym for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation." Lasers have since become an essential part of modern technology, with applications ranging from barcode scanners and laser pointers to fiber-optic communication, precision surgery, and cutting-edge scientific research.

Maiman's first laser marked the beginning of a new era in physics and engineering, one that has transformed our understanding of light and its interactions with matter. It's a testament to the ingenuity and perseverance of scientists like Maiman who turn theoretical concepts into groundbreaking real-world devices.