Laser is a device that generates an intense beam of coherent monochromatic light (or other electromagnetic radiation) by stimulated emission of photons from excited atoms or molecules. Lasers are used in drilling and cutting, alignment and guidance, and in surgery; the optical properties are exploited in holography, reading barcodes, and in recording and playing compact discs.

For example, using radiation pressure focused laser beams can form optical tweezers. Invented in 1987 by Arthur Ashkin of Bell Laboratories, these tweezers can manipulate red blood cells, microorganisms and even objects as small as a single atom. They are now widely used to investigate the machinery of life, which is why Ashkin – alongside other laser pioneers Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland – was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Strange as it may seem, other types of lasers can cool and trap atoms. Laser cooling works by carefully arranging two or more crossed laser beams. These beams reduce the atoms’ momentum through continuous absorption and spontaneous emission of photons. As temperature is a measure of a substance's average kinetic energy, less atomic momentum (and therefore less kinetic energy) means a lower temperature. An interesting application of laser cooling is in making Bose–Einstein condensates – a strange state of matter where atoms group together and act like a single huge atom

Meanwhile, the European X-ray Free-Electron Laser Facility based in Germany is the world's largest X-ray laser. This huge device housed in a facility 3.4 km long generates 27,000 super-bright flashes of X-rays per second. The short wavelength of the X-ray light allows this giant microscope to probe the composition and structure of complex biomolecules and materials at the atomic scale. And the short pulses of light mean researchers can watch movies of ultrafast phenomena – like the formation or breakup of chemical bonds – for the very first time.

Journal of medical physics and applied sciences is an international peer reviwed journal aiming to publish the most relevant and recent research works across the world. Medical Physicists will contribute to maintaining and improving the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness of healthcare services through patient-oriented activities requiring expert action, involvement or advice regarding the specification, selection, acceptance testing, commissioning, quality assurance/control and optimised clinical use of medical devices and regarding patient risks and protection from associated physical agents (e.g. x-rays, electromagnetic fields, laser light, radionuclides) including the prevention of unintended or accidental exposures; all activities will be based on current best evidence or own scientific research when the available evidence is not sufficient.

We are inviting the worldwide researchers and scholars to share their valuable research work in our journal.  We always encourage new research works under the scope of our Journal. You can submit the manuscript as an email attachment to medicalsci@scholarlymed.com or through online at https://www.imedpub.com/submissions/insights-medical-physics.html

Media contact

Eliza Miller

Managing Editor

Journal of Medical Physics and Applied Sciences