§ 95. Mr. Donnellyasked the Minister of Aviation whether he will make a statement regarding the development of light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation at the Royal Radar Establishment at Malvern.
§ Mr. RipponThis new area of research, called LASER, is concerned with the generation of light waves of a special kind that have the characteristics of radio waves. It opens up the possibility of using the light wave part of the frequency spectrum for radio communications. Some experimental work has already been done in the United States, and the results are being studied by the Royal Radar Establishment and by other research laboratories in this country. When these studies are complete we shall decide whether to start experimental work ourselves. The importance of the project is fully realised, but there are many difficulties to be overcome before practical applications can be considered.