Traces the development of stabilized lasers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology passive-stabilization experiments of the early 1960s up through the current epoch of highly stabilized helium-neon and carbon dioxide and continuous wave dye lasers. (Author/HM)

Presents the answer to a question, which is intended for high school students, about the dispersion of white light by a glass prism. Why the high frequency waves travel slower than the lower frequencies in glass is also presented. (HM)

Discusses how the frequency domain (line widths) and time domain (coherent optical transients) are related to the concept of transverse relaxation time in the study of high resolution optical spectroscopy. (HM)