“在人类的历史长河中常会出现一种潮流,把人类推向幸福的彼岸”(1)。也许,随着激光、自动化和表面工程这些强有力的技术发展趋势的滚滚汇流,我们将能够看到这种潮流的到来。简短地回顾一下本星球上的文明发展史,将会发现:应用新能源的能力与生活水平的提高之间存在若非常密切的关系。随着近代发明了激光,我们已可得到在类型上及程度上均能被应用的光能。本文列出了光能与其它形式的工业能源之间的一些差异,目的在于提出将来可能发展的方向,特别是关于表面工程方面的动向,以及说明为什么由于我们对这种新能源的利用所做出努力使我们的子孙后代有可能沐浴于较高的生活水平中。一些主要的不同点是:目前激光的能量密度居于当今工业上可资利用的高能量密度之列,从而开拓了一系列新的材料表面处理;光能是最易引导和成形的能量形式之一;这种能量传递的信号噪声很小,可以从一个独特的窗口进入自动化和“智能”操作;激光束包含有材料加工工程师至今还未利用的相干性和单色性的特性,而且激光应用的迅速发展。如用于计量学,可能很快就影响到材料加工;激光束的很纯的频率和/或多光子作用将使热力学上不可能做到的化学加工成为可能;最后,很可能还有许多新奇的应用,但我们目前还不能看到它们的可能性——如同蒸汽、电和石油等的发展史那样。 “In the long history of mankind there is always a tendency to push mankind to the other side of happiness” (1). Perhaps we will be able to see this trend coming along with the convergence of powerful technological developments such as laser, automation and surface engineering. A brief review of the history of civilization on our planet will reveal that there is a very close relationship between the ability to apply new sources of energy and the improvement of living standards. With the invention of lasers in modern times, we have been able to obtain light energy that can be applied both in type and degree. This article lists some of the differences between light energy and other forms of industrial energy with the purpose of proposing possible directions for future developments, particularly those related to surface engineering, and why we have done so due to our use of this new energy source Efforts will make it possible for our children and grandchildren to bathe in a higher standard of living. Some of the major differences are that the current energy density of lasers is among the most commercially available high energy densities in the world, opening up a new range of material finishes; light energy is one of the easiest forms of energy to guide and form ; This energy-passing signal has very little noise and can enter automated and “smart” operations from a unique window. The laser beam contains no coherence and monochromatic properties yet to be utilized by material-processing engineers, and laser applications Rapid development. If used in metrology, material processing can quickly be affected; the very pure frequency and / or multiphoton effect of the laser beam will make possible the thermomechanically impossible chemical processing; and finally, there may well be many novelties But we do not yet see the possibilities for them - just as the history of steam, electricity and oil was.