Laser for Compact Disc Player

Laser for Compact Disc Player

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Description
As scientists and engineers came to better understand lasers, they developed a multitude of uses for this light source. The development of Compact Discs (CDs) and Digital Video Discs (DVDs) revolutionized the audio and video recording industries. Lasers are essential in making and playing both types of discs. Scientists refer to laser light as "highly coherent," meaning that the photons stay tightly focused rather than spreading out like the light from a flashlight. Coherent light can be focused on a very small spot. The pits on CDs and DVDs are microscopic.
This is the laser assembly from a Sony model D-5 "Discman" portable CD player. Donated in 1985, it shows how small lasers had become only 25 years after their invention. This object also shows the dramatic decrease in the amount of power needed to operate a laser. The power supply for Theodore Maiman's 1960 ruby laser is about 6 feet tall by 2 feet square and weights about 500 pounds. By contrast, the Sony "Discman" weighed less than 1 pound and operated on AA batteries.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
laser assembly
Other Terms
laser assembly; Lasers and Masers
date made
1983
1984
maker
Sony Corporation
Physical Description
metal (overall material)
plastic (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 1.5 cm x 8.8 cm x 12 cm; 9/16 in x 3 7/16 in x 4 3/4 in
ID Number
1985.0387.01
accession number
1985.0387
catalog number
1985.0387.01
model number
D-5
Credit Line
from Sony Consumer Products Company
subject
Laser
Entertainment, general
See more items in
Work and Industry: Electricity
Energy & Power
Lasers
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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