Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology
Since autumn 2004, RP Photonics Consulting GmbH has been publishing the Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology as a part of its website. This project is a true success story, as it serves various parties in many ways:
- The readers, consisting to a large part of industry people and researchers, enjoy the opportunity to quickly learn a lot on different topics without paying for this service and without going through any process of registering their information.
- A considerable number of users realizes that this resource is provided by RP Photonics Consulting, where more specialized consulting services are also available. In fact, the majority of new consulting customers learned about RP Photonics and its technical expertise that way.
- Due to its truly dominating position on search engine result pages (e.g. on those by Google), and also because of the many satisfied users who regularly use this resource, the encyclopedia is receiving a large and still growing number of visitors (→ pagehits). This aspect also made the encyclopedia very interesting as a tool for advertising photonics products.
Print Version
In late 2008, the encyclopedia will appear as a print version, published via Wiley-VCH. However, the online version on the RP Photonics website will stay freely available ("open access") for any foreseeable future. That model simply works too well to be abandoned.
Various Tools
The encyclopedia is equipped with various useful tools:
- Most articles are assigned to one or several topical categories, listed at the bottom of the article page. It can be useful to browse the category listings.
- There is a list of new articles, and a corresponding
RSS feed for use with some newsreader software. - Most articles begin with a definition of the article keyword. Recently, a glossary was created which contains all these definitions. You can also reach that page by clicking on the word "Definition" before such a definition in an article.
- The Photonics Spotlight is a blog which regularly presents additional information in the context of encyclopedia articles.
- There is a feedback form, encouraging users to send their suggestions and comments.
- Advertisers find it convenient to see a list of pagehits of selected articles. For example, it helps them to find out which articles would be most interesting for their vendor links.
The Spirit
Both the encyclopedia's content and the way it is provided tell people about the spirit of RP Photonics:
- Be precise with the details and put them into a clear perspective.
- Address the issues of great practical importance.
- Do all to create the maximum value for all the users, and don't worry about immediate returns.
If you like this resource, become a regular visitor (make a bookmark in your browser!), send your feedback, tell others about it (e.g. with a link on your page), and consider to use the advertising features.
