The word 'laser' is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation." The use of lasers in science and in society has rapidly expanded since their development in the early 1960...The word 'laser' is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation." The use of lasers in science and in society has rapidly expanded since their development in the early 1960s. Lasers provides chemists with a powerful and versatile tool for probing the nature of and dynamics of species and chemical reactions. This chapter will discuss the foundations of lasers and the interaction of their output toward understanding atomic and molecular properties.
