Cover Story
Semiconductor Microlasers and Their Applications
R.E. Slusher
Advances in semiconductor materials growth and processing have resulted in major progress toward semiconductor micro-lasers with ultra-low thresholds and dimensions approaching a wavelength of the emitted light. These small dimensions... more>>
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Broadband Communication in Europe
T. J. B. Swanenburg
This paper sketches telecommunication developments in the European Community over the past 10 years, and traces the influence of the RACE Program (Research into Advanced Communication Technologies for Europe). more>>
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Math Isn't Just Numbers Anymore
Betsey Davis
Today is a glorious time to be a mathematics teacher. The new national standards demand connections, not only between topics in mathematics but between mathematics and the real world.1 Having taught both mathematics and physics for nearly two decades, I am having the time of my life incorporating concepts from one course into the other. Nationwide, mathematics teachers are scrounging around looking for real life applications to enhance their courses and make mathematics come alive for their students. This is a challenge for teachers who have not ventured far outside of their curricula before, and they could use the help of OSA members. more>>
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PhotoCD: Music for Your Eyes, Part 1
Dennis Howe
The marriage of a digital data distribution product and conventional photography is a major new development in imaging. In this two-part article, Dennis Howe discusses the evolution of the Kodak PhotoCD system and reviews its important technical characteristics. The level of detail given should enable optical engineers to assess whether the PhotoCD or compact disc based optical data storage will be useful for enhancing products they are working on. more>>
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The Many Faces of the Telescope
Robert E. Parks
Since we have spent the last two columns on my standards related trip to Europe, we should finish up by talking about the ISO/TC172/SC4 inaugural
meeting on telescopes in St.
Petersburg from Oct. 4-9, 1992. The Secretariat for the meeting was the Russian standards organization, GOST, and our host in St. Petersburg was the S.I. Vavilov State Institute for
Optics. There were delegations from five nations at the meeting: Austria, Germany, Japan, Russia, and the U.S. One of the first items of business was to define the scope of Subcommittee 4—
Telescopes. It was decided that "telescopes" were any optical instruments that were used to view objects at a distance. more>>