Editing Alexander Prokhorov (section)

==Research==

In 1947, Prokhorov started working on coherent radiation emitted by electrons orbiting in a cyclic [[particle accelerator]] called a [[synchrotron]]. He demonstrated that the emission is mostly concentrated in the [[microwave]] spectral range. His results became the basis of his [[habilitation]] on "Coherent Radiation of Electrons in the Synchrotron Accelerator", defended in 1951. By 1950, Prokhorov was assistant chief of the oscillation laboratory. Around that time, he formed a group of young scientists to work on radiospectroscopy of molecular rotations and vibrations, and later on [[quantum electronics]]. The group focused on a special class of molecules which have three (non-degenerate) moments of inertia. The research was conducted both on experiment and theory. In 1954, Prokhorov became head of the laboratory. Together with [[Nikolay Basov]] he developed theoretical grounds for creation of a [[Quantum harmonic oscillator|molecular oscillator]] and constructed such a device based on [[ammonia]]. They also proposed a method for the production of population inversion using inhomogeneous electric and magnetic fields. Their results were first presented at a national conference in 1952, but not published until 1954–1955.<ref name=nobel/><ref name=hero/>

In 1955, Prokhorov started his research in the field of [[electron paramagnetic resonance]] (EPR). He focused on relaxation times of ions of the [[Group 8 element|iron group element]]s in a lattice of [[aluminium oxide]], but also investigated other, "non-optical", topics, such as magnetic phase transitions in [[DPPH]].<ref>A. M. Prokhorov and V.B. Fedorov, Soviet Physics JETP 16 (1963) 1489.</ref> In 1957, while studying [[ruby]], a [[chromium]]-doped variation of aluminium oxide, he came upon the idea of using this material as an active medium of a [[laser]]. As a new type of laser resonator, he proposed, in 1958, an "open type" cavity design, which is widely used today. In 1963, together with A. S. Selivanenko, he suggested a laser using two-quantum transitions. For his pioneering work on lasers and masers, in 1964, he received the [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] shared with [[Nikolay Basov]] and [[Charles Hard Townes]].<ref name=nobel/><ref name=hero/>