UAM Joins Celebration of Laser Technology
Indra Kriner
Staff Writer
Laser Creations - Lasers
created this hologram and 3-D engraved glass decoration, found in the “50 Years
of Lasers” exhibit in the UAM library. "50 Years of Lasers" will remain on display in the Fred J. Taylor Library and Technology Center for the remainder of November.
The University of Arkansas at Monticello joined a worldwide celebration of half a century
of laser technology in November with the exhibit “50 Years of Lasers.”
Photo by Indra Kriner
Juan D. Serna, assistant professor of physics, put together the display, shown in both cases at the entrance to the Fred J. Taylor Library and Technology Center. Items featured include actual lasers in action and in parts, a hologram, video and a brief history of the laser's development.
While one case is usually reserved for student organizations and the other for UAM departments, the library made an exception this month and offered both cases to accommodate all of the items for the laser display, according to Mary Heady, special collections and reference librarian.
Not just for light shows, telecommunication, industry and medicine all utilize laser technology.
Due to its power and precision, explains Serna, who studied quantum optics while pursuing his Ph.D., it is accurate to the atomic level. “We can use, for example, lasers like tweezers,” Serna said, describing a technique called “atom trapping,” where lasers can manipulate a single atom.
This level of precision offers much promise in the medical field, and could someday replace the surgeon's knife. As computers and cell phones shrink, technological achievement requires microscopic accuracy.
Most households have lasers. CD players contain a red laser, which reads the finely-encoded information from the disc, and Blu-ray technology utilizes a high-frequency violet laser, Serna said. A violet laser can read more information in a smaller space, he explained, which increases resolution, making Blu-ray images superior to DVD images.
Each month the Fred J. Taylor Library and Technology Center hosts different exhibits in the two glass cases just inside the inner entrance. The library reserves one of them for student organizations. Any school-sponsored organization can reserve a display case for a calendar month for a special exhibit highlighting something important to your group or department.
If your campus organization would like to reserve one, please contact Mary Heady, special collections and reference librarian, at 870-460-1080 or heady@uamont.edu.
“50 Years of Lasers” will remain on display for the remainder of November.
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