The universe is filled with light and much that we know about the world around us is
derived from the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter.
Indeed, there are100 million photons for every massive particle in the universe.
With the advent of the laser a new source of light is available which possesses unique monochromatic,coherence, and propagation characteristics.
When such laser devices are driven by chemical reactions, the power of the laser beam can be spectacular. Many scientific and
technical challenges have been meet in the past three decades, integrating advances in
chemistry, physics, fluid dynamics, optics, and engineering to develop these high power
chemical lasers. These devices are now finding important applications in industrial and
military operations.