Maser is a city located in Italy.
The term "maser" also refers to a device that generates coherent electromagnetic waves in the form of microwaves through stimulated emission. The name is an acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. The concept was introduced in 1952 by Nikolay Basov, Alexander Prokhorov, and Joseph Weber, while the first maser was constructed at Columbia University in 1953 by Charles H. Townes, James P. Gordon, and Herbert J. Zeiger.
Masers are utilized as timekeeping components in atomic clocks and serve as low-noise microwave amplifiers for radio telescopes and deep-space spacecraft communication ground stations. In recognition of the theoretical work leading to the maser's development, Charles H. Townes, Nikolay Basov, and Alexander Prokhorov were awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics.