The Science of Light and Lasers - Szydlo's At Home Science

Embark on a captivating 58-minute journey through the history and science of light and lasers in this Royal Institution lecture. Explore the evolution of our understanding of light, from Isaac Newton's groundbreaking work with prisms to the Nobel Prize-winning laser photochemistry of George Porter. Delve into key concepts such as the wave theory of light, diffraction, atomic theory, and electromagnetism. Discover how spectral analysis revolutionized our understanding of matter and light, and learn about crucial developments like Crookes' radiometer, the discovery of electrons, and Planck's constant. Uncover the principles behind lasers, including electron excitation and metastability, and witness the progression from early laser designs to modern gas lasers. This comprehensive exploration, presented by chemist Andrew Szydlo, offers a fascinating look at the science that underpins much of our modern world, from fiber-optic communications to advanced medical procedures.

- Introduction
- What is a laser?
- Newton and the prism
- The wave theory of light
- Everyday types of light
- Young and diffraction
- Dalton's atomic theory
- Lines in the solar spectrum
- Faraday and electromagnetism
- The spectroscope and spectral analysis
- Matter and light
- Crookes' radiometer
- JJ Thompson and the electron
- Planck's constant
- Albert Einstein and the photoelectric effect
- Looking inside the atom
- Exciting electrons and the laser
- Metastability
- The first lasers
- A modern gas laser