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Hidden away at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory‘s National Ignition Facility is a terrifying 10-story laser. Recently scientists have finally started using it in anger, and now they’ve even smashed previous records to fire the most powerful laser shot ever recorded.
On July 5th, the scientists fired the 192 constituent laser beams simultaneously, before focussing them down onto a circular target just 2 millimeters in diameter. The result was a laser beam transmitting an eye-watering 500 trillion watts. That’s 1,000 times more than the entire United States uses at any given moment, and the highest-energy laser shot ever fired in real life.
The long-term plan, of course, is to use this incredibly high-powered laser to kick-start nuclear fusion reactions. So, we might even see some of that power make its way back to us at some point. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory via Popular Science]
I wonder what would happen if you threw a Banana into its path?
This would probably provide evidence of the existence of the (currently only theoretical) Higgs bananon, the elementary particle said to be responsible for the banana’s curvature in space/time.
It would become sentient; changing itself into Bananaman only to be sued by DC Thompson for copyright infringement.
Bananaman was a DC Thompson character from the beginning
I’m merely pointing out the litigious nature of businesses today.
It’s supposed to be a joke.
Sorry, wasn’t fully awake there…
Now they just need to scale it down and attach it to a shark and I’ll be happy.
Haha imagine how big the shark would have to be to have a 10-story laser on its freakin’ head?!
they will have to sellotape it to a ship for now i’m afraid. (laser, not shark).
Ahh, that would be why I felt a great disturbance in the Force a few days ago, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
I fear something terrible has happened
well , it’s the Americans, so something terrible is bound to happen sooner or later.
Can we use it on potential earth shattering asteroids?
Anything higher than 1.21 gigawatts is wasted…
“Terrifying”? we only fear that which we do not understand, grasshopper
Speaking of lasers, I just got kicked out of my local Laser Tag and the police were called.
Apparently knifing somebody to save ammo is not allowed.
Now if they only offset the phase of each individual beam to create some sort of phased-laser, then call it a Phasor.