Charles H. Townes, a visionary physicist whose research led to the development of the laser, making it possible to play CDs, scan prices at the supermarket, measure time precisely, survey planets and galaxies and even witness the birth of stars, died on Tuesday in Oakland, Calif. He was 99.
His daughter Linda Rosenwein confirmed his death.
In 1964, Dr. Townes and two Russians shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on microwave-emitting devices, called masers, and their light-emitting successors, lasers, which have transformed modern communications, medicine, astronomy, weapons systems and daily life in homes and workplaces.
One of the most versatile inventions of the 20th century, the laser amplifies waves of stimulated atoms that shoot out as narrow beams of light, to read CDs and bar codes, guide missiles, cut steel, perform eye surgery, make astronomical measurements and carry out myriad other tasks, from transmitting a thousand books a second over fiber optic lines to entertaining crowds with light shows.
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Besides more than 125 scientific papers, he wrote “Microwave Spectroscopy” (1955, with Dr. Schawlow), and two memoirs, “Making Waves” (1995) and “How the Laser Happened: Adventures of a Scientist” (2002).
His accolades included dozens of honorary degrees, the 1982 National Medal of Science from President Ronald Reagan, and the 2005 Templeton Prize for contributions to spiritual understanding. Calling himself a Protestant Christian, he argued that science and religion were compatible, saying there was little difference between a scientific epiphany, like his 1951 maser brainstorm, and the religious experience of revelation.
“Understanding the order of the universe and understanding the purpose in the universe are not identical,” he acknowledged in a paper in 1966, “but they are not very far apart.”
Daniel E. Slotnik contributed reporting.
