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Show Shapeour Future An amazing device colled the laser promses knif eless s One sterilizationandcauterizing ofwounds. By THEODORE IRWIN May, men on earth up another celestial body for night last Among its many other applications, the laser may provide a tracking system like radar but more precise. Undoubtedly, it also.will be used soon to map the moon in greater detail than the first time in history. device, scientists at Using a pistol-size- d Massachusetts Institute of Technology shot a magic light beam a quarter of a million 'miles , through space and illuminated a section of the moon about a mTIelhradius. The new electronic marvel, which projects an incredibly powerful shaft of light, is called the laser (pronounced like "amazer"). Within the coming decade, it will profoundly affect many aspects of your life. Since the rays can carry a voice over a vast distance, you may talk one day on a telephone line that conveys 100 million other conversations over a single beam at the same time, A similar beam will be able to carry hundreds of television channels into your homeand all of them will be staticproof and jam-freApplied to national defense, the laser may so revolutionize warfare that battles will be fought without bullets. Just what is this fabulous device? The word laser is derived from Light Amplification by on. The laser Stimulated amplifies light in much the same way a loudspeaker magnifies a voice. Normally, light spreads in all directions, but a laser squeezes it into an intense infrared. beam brighter than the center, of . the, aiiiL An jncfcwMe arrow qL light -fired from Philadelphia could focus on a "single- house" in Washington, D.C. The basic light-ra- y "gun" is usually not much larger than a flashlight. (Lasers designed as missile killers may turn out to be as big as h rod of syncannons.) At its heart is a thetic jrabyrjstajLjroin4 J t Js a spiral Jlash lamp. Bursts of light from the lamp "excite" ) ' six-inc- "JftYoMlimC state of energy. When these atoms drop back to normal, theygive off their energy as light. Qnlythat part of he Jightaimedtout,throug a small, hole at one end of the ruby escapes in the form of the even, intense laser beam. A single bursfris visible for only a fraction of a second, yet it can cut tiny holes in diamonds, the toughest known substance. 'r tJr . high-precisi- on V K y e. JFmission-of-J?adiati- But JO -- ;V.:V the laser's greatest gee-wh- iz implications military. Realizing the ray's potential, the Pentagon is spending millions of dollars on a radical new family of weapons involving the laser. Much of this weapons research is hush-hussince Russia, too, apparently has gone far with light rays, but 4he curtains gradually being raised on some of the possible military applications. H -- ThebilityldOMJ8! neat m" beam tensely any object on which it is focused naturally raises the possibility of a death ray. In the event of all-owar, an American artillery , sergeant Ibehindl a small . laser'cannon'l cob: ceivably could point a powerful light beam at an enemy missile plunging toward us and the light would track the incoming warhead and -destroy it with one intense burst. In a plane over enemy terrain, an airman down troops, could use his "light gun" set ablaze the fuel tanks of opposing aircraft, and blind their pilots. From one of our space h, X I Dr. Theodore H. Maiman, then a 33-year-- phys- icist, developed the first ruby laser in 1960. Since its discovery two years ago,, the laser Js one of -- the fasteskdeveloping devices mtejsh-nologAll over thecoantry, as major research laboratories- seek to harness the light waves,: breakthroughs are piling up. ; In peacetime, the laser may influence your health as well as your tv and telephone service. , y. Since light rays can be focused to a point, nar-rower- to may become knifeless. Surgeons at New York's lfes1yTemh have used needle-thi- n light beams to perform delicate operations inside the eye. Tumor tis- suesrol-theretinaha- ve been-destroye- d-J "cooking," and damaged retinas have been in ll,000th of a second. "spot-welde- d" . Many leading surgeons predict that light rays will be valuable in brain surgery and radiationt September 16,1962 COVER: Photographed by John Engstead, actress. Janet Leigh displays her piquant beauty 7 elegantly in this black sheath, part of her new convertible wardrobe. See p. 26. ever before. Already, scientists at the Naval Research Laboratories have utilized the laser in making the first accurate calculation of the planet Jupiter's temperature: it is minus 150 degrees Fahrenheit. In industry, sweeping advances in electronics are in the offing. The first commercial lasers will be available this year. One weighs only a pound and can be fired safely while held in your hand. It may be used as a telephoto light source in taking pictures and for welding of tiny wires and thin sheets of metal. ut ' to-mo- terrorize and "burn" entire strategic areas. Science fiction? No longer. Some scientists .predicij3ucji!auuc be a reality before the end of the '60s. As one outstanding scientist in the field puts, it: "The laser's effect on man's life can't even be calculated now. There's no fundamental limit to its power in peace and war." Published Biweekly During the Summer LEONARD S. DAVIOOW President and Publisher WALTER C. DREYFUS Vice President PATRICK E. O'ROURKE. Advertising Director MORTON FRANK Director of Publisher Relations Send all advertising communications to Family Weekly, 153 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago I, III. Address all communications about editorial features to Family Weekly,. 60 E. 56th St., N.w York 22, N. Y. 1962, FAMILY WEEKLY MAGAZINE, Board of Editors ERNEST V. HEYN Editor-in-Chi- ef BEN KARTMAN Executive Editor ROBERT FITZGIBBON Managing Editor MARGARET BELL Feature Editor PHILLIP DYKSTRA Art Director MELANIE DE PROFT Food Editor Rosalyn Abrevaya, Arden Eidell, John Hochmann, Hal landon. Jack Ryan; Peer "J. Oppcnheimer, Hollywood. ' 153 N. INC, Michigan, Ave., Chicago 1, III. All rights reserved. |