Includes bibliographical references and index.

A scenic route through the laser : The meaning of >>laser<< ; Radiation from an atom ; The anatomy of a laser ; Some examples of lasers ; Pulsed lasers ; Properties of a laser beam ; How to make the shortest laser pulse ; Ultrashort ultraintense laser pulses ; Ultrashort ultraprecise laser pulses ; Ultrashort ultrasensitive laser pulses ; The nonlinear wizard: juggling with frequencies -- Laser coherence at home : The laser printer ; The laser scanner ; The laser in data storage ; Miscellaneous applications -- The laser in medicine : Introduction ; The laser in dentistry ; The laser and vision ; Lasers and the neural network ; Lasers for the skin and cosmetics ; Lasers in surgery ; Biostimulation lasers for ulcer treatment ; Lasers in diagnostics ; Ultrafast peeking -- Lasers in industry : Laser machining ; Laser cutting/drilling ; Cutting the forest ; Nanostructure with lasers -- Laser time capsule : Introduction ; Ultrashort pulses in microscopy ; Communication ; Frequency combs -- Light in matter : Attosecond science ; Lasers in nuclear physics and accelerators ; Laser cooling -- High power lasers (tazer/teaser) : Filaments ; Laser-induced lightning ; Lazer tazer-teaser -- Laser sensors : Passive sensors ; Active sensors -- Future perspectives.