Laser Interaction and Related Plasma Phenomena e-bog

Paul Harteck Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York When the Maser and the Laser Were discovered, people were speculating if this was the beginning of a new page, or even a new chapter, in the Book of Physics. The Second Workshop on "e;Laser Interaction and Related Plasma Phenomena"e; held in Hartford made it clear that the perspective had changed, that people now question if the consequences of these discoveries constitute a new chapter, or possibly a new era in Physics. While the papers presented were all stimulating and of out- standing quality, of special interest were the experiments which demonstrated that triggering of thermonuclear fusion by Laser techniques is indeed in the realm of the possible. Along these lines, I enjoy recalling an anecdote concerning the late F. G. Houtermans. I think that all who knew him will agree that he was an unusual genius and at the same time a very amusing colleague.