A Brief History On November 14, 1967, physicist Theodore Maiman, an American working for Hughes Research Laboratories, was finally granted a patent for the “optical maser” (maser: microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) device he called the Laser (laser: light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation), once the stuff of science fiction and now an everyday common electronic device. Digging Deeper Using a synthetic ruby to focus light pumped from a high energy source (the scientific details hurt my liberal arts head), the laser was featured in the James Bond film, Goldfinger (1964) demonstrating the powerful light’s ability to…
Browsing: November 14
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A Brief History On November 14, 2013, Canadian law enforcement struck a major blow against child exploitation when the outcome of Project Spade, a three-year operation which resulted in the international arrests of 348 criminals and the rescue of 383 exploited children and child sex slaves, was officially made public. Digging Deeper The operation began when the Toronto police got wind of a purveyor of child pornography and grew to involve the law enforcement agencies of 50 countries. Of the children rescued, 330 came from the United States. Oftentimes the children were filmed running and playing naked rather than engaging in…
A Brief History On November 14th, the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates Saint Theodora who once spanked a man after he talked trash about his own wife! Digging Deeper One of history’s most influential and significant empresses is Theodora (c. 500 A.D. – June 28, 548 A.D.). Her life is also among the more difficult imperial lives to get a clear picture of because to some she is revered as a saint, whereas to others she is remembered for having possibly worked in a brothel and being the daughter of a dancer and actress (not considered classy professions in those days).…