Lasers

Series

Series Name

Living Tomorrow

Issue

Issue No.

244

Date Released

1979

Length of issue (in feet)

522

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1Lasers

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 1

Summary

COI synopsis: Twenty years ago, scientists invented a new sort of light - laser light. Now, as its breathtaking potential for visual entertainment is being realised, the laser is rapidly establishing itself as the world’s most versatile industrial tool. As lasers develop, their uses become more sophisticated; this programme explores the widening world of the laser... - in gravure printing, the system of chemical etching on a copper plate is laborious and costly. Using a laser to etch a special plastic plate, which can be used in a conventional printer, simplifies and speeds up the whole process - the air industry have found a job for lasers in flight simulation. Using a laser to scan a detailed scale model and linking it to a special laser projector is the latest answer to providing a realistic view from the cockpit of a low flying aircraft - as a cutting tool the laser can cope with everything from plastic to ceramic; can be used in the workshop... and the operating theatre. Used as a scalpel, the laser will simultaneously cut, sterilize, and seal the area around it - the power of Europe’s largest laser compresses matter to thousands of times its normal density, in the search for a way to generate energy by nuclear fusion. The ultimate goal of a controlled fusion reaction could provide the world with an endless supply of cheap energy.

Researcher Comments

The section on flight simulation also appears in ‘Living Tomorrow No. 305’ under the title ‘Flight Simulator’

Keywords

Mass media; Aviation; Science and technology; Industry and manufacture; Engineering; Nuclear energy; Inventions and discoveries

Written sources

COI Microfilm Roll 55 [BFI National Archive]   Used for synopsis

COI Reference

MI 1458/244

Credits:

Sponsor

Central Office of Information (COI)

Sponsor

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Cutter

Fred Goodland

This series is held by:

Film Archive

Name

British Film Institute (BFI)

Email

For BFI National Archive enquiries:
nonfictioncurators@bfi.org.uk
For commercial/footage reuse enquiries:
footage.films@bfi.org.uk

Web

http://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web

Phone

020 7255 1444

Fax

020 7580 7503

Address

21 Stephen Street
London W1T 1LN

Notes

The BFI National Archive also preserves the original nitrate film copies of British Movietone News, British Paramount News, Empire News Bulletin, Gaumont British News, Gaumont Graphic, Gaumont Sound News and Universal News (the World War II years are covered by the Imperial War Museum).

Series held

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