The Laser standing for ‘light amplified by stimulated emission of radiation’ is the most well known application of the quantum theory (Nave 2011, p.1). The stimulated emission of light due to light’s behaviour as a wave, allows lasers to occur. This process is when a photon transits an electron in its excited state to a lower level producing a new photon of the same energy (Cliff’s notes 2012, p.1). This process duplicates as more photons are produced forming what is known as a population inversion (Nave 2011, p.1). For this transition to occur light must act as also a particle as the specific Quantum energy of the photon explained by Planck’s hypothesis results in the produced photons only occurring in discrete bundles of energy. Thus this allows emitted photons to have, “a definite time and phase relation to each other” which as a result enables coherence (Nave 2011, p.2). It is this coherence that results in a concentrated beam of light that the laser is equipped with. Lasers have since been used in the design of CD and DVD players as well as missiles (Atteberry 2010, p.1) and are obviously a well used application of Quantum mechanics. Lasers are only one application of this theory but there are many more including;
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Just from these few examples it is clear just how much Quantum theory has impacted our technology and without it our society would be very different!
References
Atteberry 2012, “10 real-world applications of Quantum mechanics”, Discovery Communications, viewed 14th October 2012, < http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/10-real-world-applications-of-quantum-mechanics.htm>
Cliffs notes 2012, “Modern physics”, Wiley and sons Inc., viewed 13th October 2012, <www.cliffsnotes.com/studyguide/Relativity.topicArticleId-10453,articleId-10445.html>
Nave 2011, “Wave-particle duality”, viewed 14th October 2012, < http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mod1.html#c5>
Cliffs notes 2012, “Modern physics”, Wiley and sons Inc., viewed 13th October 2012, <www.cliffsnotes.com/studyguide/Relativity.topicArticleId-10453,articleId-10445.html>
Nave 2011, “Wave-particle duality”, viewed 14th October 2012, < http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mod1.html#c5>