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Nikolay Basov (14 December, 1922–1 July, 2001) was a famous Soviet educator and physicist. He is well known for his elementary work in quantum electronics. He won the Nobel Prize in the year 1964 for the development of laser and maser. His co-partners were Alexander Prokhorov and Charles Hard Townes. He completed his graduation from Moscow Engineering Physics Institute. Later in life, he was elected a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1966, he became a full member.
His discovery led to a new initiative for missile defence. He entered politics and became a member of the Supreme Soviet in 1974. After he had invented laser, it was nicknamed as 'a solution looking for a problem'. It proved to be very useful in the field of medicine industry and military. On the other hand, maser is a device, which is useful to produce coherent electromagnetic waves. It was amplified by stimulated emission. They are generally used in radio telescope as low-noise microwave amplifiers.