Science and Public Policy: National Security 117 



Whatever the consequences of these remarkable 

 New Options findings may be, they will surely be significant 

 Are Found for a basic understanding of metallic conduction 

 Steadily and electromagnetic systems of the future. We 



see also a comparable diversity of new phenom- 

 ena appearing, not in the old medium of metals, but in the old 

 radiation of light. Since the discovery of coherent light by 

 Schawlow and Townes, there have been many assessments of the 

 impact of the new science on technology. Mostly, these exam- 

 ples simply accent that there is no static body of discovery to be 

 evaluated, but rather that the forward motion of research, car- 

 ried out independently of a specific laser system or application, 

 always suffices to be doubling and redoubling the options 

 for eventual systems application. This was shown strikingly 

 in the past year by crucial results on scientific strategy of 

 decisions made earlier. I am referring to the decision that gas 

 lasers should be sought, and especially understood, for their 

 power generating potential, even though the then current (1960 

 onward) systems estimates put such things as pulsed emission 

 from solid state lasers very far ahead (Fig. 13). Accordingly, it is 

 encouraging to find Dr. C. K. N. Patel's discovery of the carbon 

 dioxide and other molecular gas lasers (Fig. 14). In combination 

 with such additives as nitrogen and helium, the CO2 lasers have 

 emitted hundreds of watts of power continuously around 10.6 

 microns in wave length. 



Specific developments of this system, such as by the Perkin 

 Elmer Corporation, Raytheon and other independent indus- 

 trial centers, are leading to sources of infrared radiation beyond 

 any vision of a few years ago. Their significance for signaling, 

 navigation, ranging, weaponry, reconnaissance and other uses 

 remains to be developed. The potential, however, compares 

 fully with all that we have achieved in electromagnetic radia- 

 tion sources before, including the discoveries and exploitation 

 of microwave radiation itself. 



So we can salute the philosophy of research like that propa- 

 gated by the Office of Naval Research, for the strong and en- 



