From Nonlinear Optics to High-Intensity Laser Physics

With the invention of lasers, the intensity of a light wave was increased by
orders of magnitude leading to new phenomena being observed like violet light coming
out when red light went into the material. The laser intensity increased dramatically
again with the development of Chirped Pulse Amplification, which created short, intense
pulses of light that kicked electrons off their atoms. This new high-intensity laser matter
interaction lead to new laser machining techniques that are now commonly used in eye
surgery.