A US weapons lab last week unveiled a new super laser with the ability to burn as hot as a star. The National Ignition Facility claims to be the world’s highest energy laser system, a house-sized sphere that can focus 192 laser beams on a small point and generate temperatures and pressures only found at the core of stars and giant planets.
The reason scientists are so excited about the laser is not for its destructive potential, however — they’re more interested in what might happen if the concentrated laser were to hit some hydrogen atoms. It’s been theorised that the reaction might be enough to hit the ignition point required for a sustained fusion reaction, which has been one of the most sought after goals in solving the world’s growing energy needs.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was on hand to deliver his appreciation of the NIF device with his usual aplomb: “We can create the stars right here on earth. And I can see already my friends in Hollywood being very upset that their stuff that they show on the big screen is obsolete.”
