The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF) has fired the strongest laser shot ever recorded, measuring 2.03 megajoules.
The laser was only expected to reach 1.87 megajoules, but it became the first ultraviolet laser to break the 2 megajoule barrier after its beam was focused through one final lens.
Creating a laser blast that powerful -- with a foot-wide beam -- requires splitting a single beam into 48, then using mirrors to bounce those beams through 4 amplifiers, and then splitting and amplifying them again. The end result is 192 beams combining into a single, powerful shot.
The NIF plans to use the laser to compress a hydrogen fuel cell, creating a nuclear fusion reaction that generates more power than it takes to fire a laser. If successful, the project could lead to the development of a new fusion-based power source.
NIF scientists haven't yet announced when they plan to test the laser on an actual target.
[gizmodo]
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