A Rational Cosmology: The Structure of the Laser Device

This is Essay CV of Mr. Stolyarov's series, "A Rational Cosmology," which seeks to present objective, absolute, rationally grounded views of terms such as universe, matter, volume, space, time, motion, sound, light, forces, fields, and even the higher-order concepts of life, consciousness, and volition. See the index of all the essays in "A Rational Cosmology" here.

A laser device -- named after an abbreviation for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation" -- is a specific type of light source; it releases light of only one measurable magnitude and only in one direction. Instead of normal light's manifestation on all targets surrounding the light source, laser light appears as a concentrated beam, outside of which there is no light from the laser. Hence, laser light is unidirectional. The laser beam exhibits only one color; thus, laser light is said to be monochromatic.

Post-Classical physicists contend that the operation of a laser device can be explained only by viewing light as a simultaneous particle and wave. To demolish this view, we shall examine the operation of a simple laser device, a ruby laser. We will note where the modern scientists invoke the erroneous duality. Finally, we shall show that using it to explain the laser's function is unnecessary. The behavior of the laser device can be understood just as well when light is recognized as a relationship at a distance between source and target -- a view I had developed thus far in A Rational Cosmology.

A ruby laser is constructed thus: A container, a ruby rod, is filled with a crystal called ruby, with molecular formula CrAlO_3. Physicist Dr. Jack Horgan describes ruby as "an aluminum oxide crystal in which some of the aluminum atoms have been replaced with chromium atoms." The chromium atoms absorb blue and green light and reflect only red light of magnitude 694.3 on the electromagnetic spectrum (or 694.3 "nanometers of wavelength," if the erroneous-duality-based unit of light is invoked).