The real-life DEATH STAR: US researchers developing laser 100,000 times more powerful than all of Earth's power stations combined
Will emit a short laser burst with an intensity of 1023 watts per square centimetre
100,000 times more power than all the power stations in the world combined
Laser bursts will last only 1/100,000th of a billionth of a second
Laser being built by Lawrence Livermore lab in the US
By Mark Prigg
It will be the most powerful laser ever created, and could give researchers incredible new insights into how the cosmos was created.
Called the High-Repetition-Rate Advanced Petawatt Laser System (HAPLS), it will emit 100,000 times more power than all the power stations in the world - for a tiny fraction of a second.
It has even been nicknamed the Death Star laser for its similarity to Darth Vader's laser wielding base in Star Wars.
The Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) Beamlines project is an EU-funded lab being developed with experts from around the world, including Lawrence Livermore lab in the US, and being built in the Czech Republic.
Due to be switched on by 2017, it will emit a short laser burst with an intensity of 1023 watts per square centimeter.
'ELI will become the first international laser research facility, much like a ‘CERN for laser research’, hosting some of the world’s most powerful lasers enabling a new era of unique research opportunities for users from all countries,' said Professor Wolfgang Sandner, director general of the ELI-Delivery Consortium International Association (AIBSL).
Will emit a short laser burst with an intensity of 1023 watts per square centimetre
100,000 times more power than all the power stations in the world combined
Laser bursts will last only 1/100,000th of a billionth of a second
Laser being built by Lawrence Livermore lab in the US
By Mark Prigg
It will be the most powerful laser ever created, and could give researchers incredible new insights into how the cosmos was created.
Called the High-Repetition-Rate Advanced Petawatt Laser System (HAPLS), it will emit 100,000 times more power than all the power stations in the world - for a tiny fraction of a second.
It has even been nicknamed the Death Star laser for its similarity to Darth Vader's laser wielding base in Star Wars.
The Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) Beamlines project is an EU-funded lab being developed with experts from around the world, including Lawrence Livermore lab in the US, and being built in the Czech Republic.
Due to be switched on by 2017, it will emit a short laser burst with an intensity of 1023 watts per square centimeter.
'ELI will become the first international laser research facility, much like a ‘CERN for laser research’, hosting some of the world’s most powerful lasers enabling a new era of unique research opportunities for users from all countries,' said Professor Wolfgang Sandner, director general of the ELI-Delivery Consortium International Association (AIBSL).