A fiber laser reducing machine. Double-clad fiber lasers, initially developed at Polaroid within the late Nineteen Eighties, proceed to affect laser science and expertise throughout a variety of trade and scientific functions. [Phuchit / Getty Images]
The double-clad (DC) fiber laser has proved a recreation changer in laser expertise and communications, with a world affect on sectors starting from commerce to science and medication to the army. But, satirically, this expertise—which was initially developed for a Polaroid printer within the mid-Nineteen Eighties and continues to form laser science and engineering at present—confronted early skepticism and opposition that just about led to its demise. On this essay, I provide some private recollections of these early days, as a member of the Polaroid group that helped develop this breakthrough expertise.
