When people think of lasers, they may well picture James Bond strapped to a steel table about to get sliced in two. Flash forward a few decades. Lasers--"Laser" stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation--are inside DVD players and medical equipment but not used as weapons of murder or even mass destruction.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Coherent (the name comes from the fact that photons in a laser are synchronized, forming a coherent beam of light) turns 40 this year. John Ambroseo, CEO of the self-proclaimed worldwide leader in photonics, gave CNET News.com a tour of the company's facilities. An interview will follow shortly, but in the meantime, here are some pictures from the tour (alas, there was nary a secret agent in sight).
This first photo shows the TracER Forensic System. This device is essentially a portable green laser that can be used during crime scene investigations to detect fingerprints, fiber strands and other material. Typically, investigators have to take materials back to the lab for testing. The TracER lets them scan a complete crime scene on the spot. The idea was concocted over a lunch meeting, Ambroseo said.
Photo by Michael Kanellos/CNET Networks
