Kuruvilla Pandikattu SJ
Charles H. Townes (1915-2015), the Nobel Prize and Templeton Prize-winning physicist who developed the theory that led to the laser, believed that science and faith were similar and ought to interact with one another.
Townes’ inspiration for the predecessor of the laser came to him while sitting on a park bench, waiting for a restaurant to open for breakfast. On the calm morning of April 26, 1951, Townes scribbled a theory on scrap paper that would lead to the laser, his famous invention that transformed everyday life and led to other scientific discoveries.
Townes, who was also known for his strong spiritual faith, famously compared that moment to a religious revelation.
In 1954, that theory was realized when Townes and his students developed the laser’s predecessor, the maser (microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation).
“I knew the laser would have many applications,” Townes explained in 2001, “but it never occurred to me that we’d get such power from it.”
The laser not only paved the way for other scientific breakthroughs that have revolutionized everything from medicine to manufacturing, but it also has a wide range of applications today: DVD players, gun sights, printers, computer networks, metal cutters, tattoo removal, and vision correction are just a few of the tools and technologies that rely on lasers.
Townes, a devout member of the United Church of Christ, drew both praise and criticism later in his career for a series of speeches and essays examining the parallels between science and religion.
“Science tries to understand what our universe is like and how it works, including us humans,” Townes wrote in 2005. “My own view is that, while science and religion may seem different, they have many similarities, and should interact and enlighten each other,” he added.
Townes, who was born on July 28, 1915, in Greenville, South Carolina, to Baptist parents who believed in an open-minded interpretation of theology, discovered his calling during his sophomore year at Furman University and went on to earn a master’s degree in physics from Duke University and a doctorate from the California Institute of Technology.
“I feel that very rarely have I done any work in my life,” he told. “I have a good time. I’m exploring. I’m playing a game, solving puzzles, and having fun, and for some reason people have been willing to pay me for it. Officially, I was supposed to retire years ago, but retire from what? Why stop having a good time?”
In 1966, he published an article in the IBM journal THINK titled “The Convergence of Science and Religion.” The distinction between science and religion “are largely superficial,” he wrote, “the two become almost indistinguishable if we look at the real nature of each.”
In 2005, he was awarded the Templeton Prize for Advances in Spiritual Research or Discoveries. “Many people don’t realize that science basically involves assumptions and faith. But nothing is absolutely proved,” Townes said at the time. “Wonderful things in both science and religion come from our efforts based on observations, thoughtful assumptions, faith and logic.”
kuru@jdv.edu.in
