Maser

A maser is any amplifier that produces coherent electromagnetic waves due to stimulated emission.

Technology

There are a number of types of masers. Generally one can break these down into type as the gas masers, solid masers, and as yet only hypothesized liquid masers. In each of these categories there are many different subtypes; for example, solid state masers come in a number of varieties; such as two level solid state masers, and three level cavity masers.

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In operation, some masers use liquid helium for cooling to temperatures around 4 kelvins. This reduces the noise from vibrating electrons, nuclei, and other charged particles.

Related Topics:
Liquid helium - Kelvin

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Several different chemicals are capable of masing. These include water (H2O), hydroxyl ion (HO−), ammonia (NH3), methanol (CH3OH), formaldehyde (CH2O), silicon monoxide (SiO), and the hydrogen ion (H+). The dual noble gas maser http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/Walsworth/Activities/DNGM/old-DNGM.html is an example of a masing medium which is nonpolar.

Related Topics:
Water - Hydroxyl - Ion - Ammonia - Methanol - Formaldehyde - Silicon monoxide - Hydrogen - Noble gas - Nonpolar

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