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Incoming links: Charles H. Townes
Charles H. Townes Created 2026-10-24 Updated 2026-11-05
Charles H. Townes, James Power Gordon and Herbert Jack Zeiger developed the molecular maser, using stimulated emission to amplify or generate coherent microwaves. Their report treats the same device as an amplifier, oscillator and spectrometer. Preparing the molecular excitation and providing resonant feedback turns microscopic transitions between energy levels into a macroscopic signal. The measured frequency stability and narrow spectroscopic resolution showed why the maser could serve as both an instrument for studying molecules and a frequency reference.[ref]
The Maser—New Type of Microwave Amplifier, Frequency Standard, and Spectrometer by James Power Gordon and others. 1955 abstract and molecular-generator mechanism: oscillator stability, spectroscopy and amplification
A physicist.[ref]
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1964/townes/biographical/. Independent professional profile
Portrait of Charles H. Townes
. Woodruff T. Sullivan III; NRAO/AUI Archives, Sullivan Collection; rights NRAO/AUI/NSF. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, with NRAO's displayed source-credit/non-endorsement and third-party-rights qualifications., via Wikimedia Commons. Source.