A gift from Apollo: lasers, history, applications

Lasers definitely transformed science and the society in which we live. Thus, they no doubt deserve space in physics classrooms. This article presents a brief historical and conceptual discussion on the invention of masers and lasers that may be used in physics classrooms of secondary schools and allows to discuss the working principle of masers and lasers, key concepts such as coherence and monochromaticity, as well as aspects of the dynamics between science, technology and society in the 20th century, in especial the impact of the two major World Wars and the Cold War on Physics. It also presents some of the main factor that led to the invention of masers in the United States and the Soviet Union, almost simultaneously, and that fostered the development of lasers in the major powers of the Cold War and Brazil in the 1960s.

Keywords
Lasers; History of Lasers; Physics in Cold War