228 unifying physics of accelerators, lasers and plasma
all desirable benefits of the system and its cost or other harmful effects, should have the tendency to increase. The law of
uneven development of parts of a system suggests that the different parts of a technical system will evolve differently, leading
to new technical and physical contradictions. And finally, the
law of transition to a super-system states that a system which
has exhausted the possibilities of further significant improvement is included in a super-system as one of its parts.
Finally, the two dynamic laws are as follows. The law of
transition from macro to micro level suggests that the development of working organs proceeds initially on a macro and
then more and more on a micro level. And the law of increasing involvement of fields in the system states that the fields
evolve from mechanical fields to electro-magnetic fields.
We note that the phrase in the previous paragraph,
“the fields evolve from mechanical fields to electro-magnetic
fields,” can be extended and clarified as meaning that, within
the electro-magnetic spectrum, the evolution should follow
from RF frequencies to optical frequencies.
We can conclude from this comparison and discussion
that “from microwave to optical,” which we initially identified as an inventive principle, is in fact better suited to be
defined as a general trend of technical/scientific system evolution.
Let’s highlight this conclusion by using an example of the
invention of CPA in connection to radar.
11.2.2 From radar to high-power lasers
In 1935, Robert Watson-Watt developed the RDF (RadioDirection Finding), which later become known as RADAR
(RAdio Detection And Ranging). Development of the radar
device took place at Ditton Park in England, which later became known as the Appleton Laboratory and, after merging
with the Rutherford Laboratory, became the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory — currently the home of many accelerators
and lasers (and located just a half-hour drive from Oxford —
the place where this book was written).
The operation of radar involves chirped pulse amplification. The positive influence of radars on the span of the 20th
century cannot be discounted. Indeed, we would not have
been party to the tremendous and revolutionary advances in
laser technology had it not been for the chirped pulse amplification — CPA, developed around 1985 by D. Strickland and
G. Mourou. 1
The development of CPA stimulated an exponential
growth of available laser powers. From around 1990 to the
1 D. Strickland and G. Mourou, Compression of amplified chirped optical
pulses. Opt. Commun. 56, 219–221 (1985).
all desirable benefits of the system and its cost or other harmful effects, should have the tendency to increase. The law of
uneven development of parts of a system suggests that the different parts of a technical system will evolve differently, leading
to new technical and physical contradictions. And finally, the
law of transition to a super-system states that a system which
has exhausted the possibilities of further significant improvement is included in a super-system as one of its parts.
Finally, the two dynamic laws are as follows. The law of
transition from macro to micro level suggests that the development of working organs proceeds initially on a macro and
then more and more on a micro level. And the law of increasing involvement of fields in the system states that the fields
evolve from mechanical fields to electro-magnetic fields.
We note that the phrase in the previous paragraph,
“the fields evolve from mechanical fields to electro-magnetic
fields,” can be extended and clarified as meaning that, within
the electro-magnetic spectrum, the evolution should follow
from RF frequencies to optical frequencies.
We can conclude from this comparison and discussion
that “from microwave to optical,” which we initially identified as an inventive principle, is in fact better suited to be
defined as a general trend of technical/scientific system evolution.
Let’s highlight this conclusion by using an example of the
invention of CPA in connection to radar.
11.2.2 From radar to high-power lasers
In 1935, Robert Watson-Watt developed the RDF (RadioDirection Finding), which later become known as RADAR
(RAdio Detection And Ranging). Development of the radar
device took place at Ditton Park in England, which later became known as the Appleton Laboratory and, after merging
with the Rutherford Laboratory, became the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory — currently the home of many accelerators
and lasers (and located just a half-hour drive from Oxford —
the place where this book was written).
The operation of radar involves chirped pulse amplification. The positive influence of radars on the span of the 20th
century cannot be discounted. Indeed, we would not have
been party to the tremendous and revolutionary advances in
laser technology had it not been for the chirped pulse amplification — CPA, developed around 1985 by D. Strickland and
G. Mourou. 1
The development of CPA stimulated an exponential
growth of available laser powers. From around 1990 to the
1 D. Strickland and G. Mourou, Compression of amplified chirped optical
pulses. Opt. Commun. 56, 219–221 (1985).