Fast Company Magazine
Fifty Years of Lasers, by the Numbers
The first U.S. patent for the laser went to Arthur Schawlow and Charles Townes 50 years ago this month. Both physicists won Nobels for the work, which — with that of ex-colleague Gordon Gould — has sparked decades of innovation and sci-fi fantasy. A look at the data.
![Fifty Years of Lasers, by the Numbers]()