This Second Edition describes the basic design and operation of a variety of types of lasers. It overviews some of the traditional applications of lasers, such as laser printers and laser machining. It also describes an unconventional application of lasers: the cooling and confinement of atoms at very low temperature. Ultracold atoms have a number of possible applications that include study of Bose-Einstein condensates. The book reviews traditional Bose-Einstein condensate experiments, as well as zero-gravity experiments and experiments on quasiparticle condensates. Other applications of ultracold atoms include highly accurate atomic clocks, and their use as a time standard. This research and reference text is aimed at science and engineering professionals as well as upper level undergraduate and graduate physics students.

Key Features:

• Provides an overview of the basic principles of lasers and reviews typology and operation
• Summarizes the important applications of lasers
• Covers the basic theory behind Bose-Einstein condensates in an accessible format
• Summarizes historical and recent results of Bose-Einstein condensate experiments