A life in physics

by Charles H. Townes

Townes discusses his family background in South Carolina, education at Furman, Duke, Caltech, Bell Telephone Laboratories; his career as a professor of physics and research Officer in the Navy including research in microwave spectroscopy, the maser and the laser, quantam physics, issues surrounding patents, his Nobel prize, Berkeley in the 60's, astrophysics and infrared work, among others. Includes interview with Townes' wife, Frances Brown Townes.