A helium-neon laser demonstration at the Kastler-Brossel Laboratory at Univ. Paris 6. The glowing ray in the middle is an electric discharge producing light in much the same way as a neon light. It is the gain medium through which the laser passes, not the laser beam itself, which is visible there. The laser beam crosses the air and marks a red point on the screen to the right.

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A helium-neon laser demonstration at the Kastler-Brossel Laboratory at Univ. Paris 6. The glowing ray in the middle is an electric discharge producing light in much the same way as a neon light. It is the gain medium through which the laser passes, not the laser beam itself, which is visible there. The laser beam crosses the air and marks a red point on the screen to the right.