Lasers!
In early 1965 I was a just barely 18 year old college freshman (that's as far as I got) taking a class at the University of Houston called something like "practical engineering". It was a combination of some basic electricity, slide rule use, mechanical drawing, etc. On Mondays it often had some kind of show and tell from some technical company. This particular evening Bell Labs had a laser to show us.
They set up in a class room. Their "rig" was a record turntable connected to some kind of laser "sending unit". On the other side of the room was a laser "receiver unit" that was then connected to a stereo amp and a pair of speakers. Lights in the room were turned down and one of the Bell Lab guys was sitting near the laser beam, smoking a cigarette so the smoke would make it easier to see the beam. They started the turntable and the music came from the speakers.
A month or so earlier the James Bond movie "Goldfinger" had been released. In one scene, Goldfinger had Bond tied down to a metal table and was threatening Bond by aiming the beam starting between his feet and burning through the table while bringing it up towards the point of no return. Most of the students in the room had seen the movie. I know it was on my mind. At that point one of the Bell Labs guys walked into the laser beam! And ...
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... the music stopped.
Last edited by Bill Hanlon; 03/30/2025 2:12 AM.
'57 GMC 102, Original 347 V8, HydraMatic, 3.08 rear gear, added A/C, disk front brakes, HEI, AFB carb, '98 Honda Black Currant paint. T-boned and totaled 10/12
'52 GMC 152 Stake Bed, Original 228, SM420, added A/C, HEI, disk front brakes, '67 Chev 3.55 rear gear. Gets used as a real truck.
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