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U of MI Produces Strongest Laser Ever

eldavojohn writes "Weighing in at a mere 20 billion trillion watts per square centimeter and containing a measly 300 terawatts of power, the University of Michigan has broken a record with a 1.3-micron speck wide laser. It's about two orders of magnitude higher than any other laser in the world and can perform for 30 femtoseconds once every ten seconds — some of the researchers speculate it is the most powerful laser in the universe. 'If you could hold a giant magnifying glass in space and focus all the sunlight shining toward Earth onto one grain of sand, that concentrated ray would approach the intensity of a new laser beam made in a University of Michigan laboratory ... To achieve this beam, the research team added another amplifier to the HERCULES laser system, which previously operated at 50 terawatts. HERCULES is a titanium-sapphire laser that takes up several rooms at U-M's Center for Ultrafast Optical Science. Light fed into it bounces like a pinball off a series of mirrors and other optical elements. It gets stretched, energized, squeezed and focused along the way.'" And ... cue the evil chortling.

30 of 244 comments (clear)

  1. Cool by Charcharodon · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now if you can get it to fit in the weapons bay of a B1-B we might have something.

    1. Re:Cool by Shakrai · · Score: 5, Funny

      Now if you can get it to fit in the weapons bay of a B1-B we might have something.

      Popcorn!

      --
      I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
      We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
  2. The power to destroy a planet... by Andrew823 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Now all they have to do is build a huge moon-sized military base around it.

    1. Re:The power to destroy a planet... by Shakrai · · Score: 3, Funny

      Now all they have to do is build a huge moon-sized military base around it.

      That's no moon.....

      --
      I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
      We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
    2. Re:The power to destroy a planet... by Andrew823 · · Score: 5, Funny

      ...it's a gigantic spherical shark?

  3. Safety first by andy314159pi · · Score: 4, Funny

    20 billion trillion watts per square centimeter and containing a measly 300 terawatts of power
    God, I hope they provide the students operating that thing with some safety goggles.
    1. Re:Safety first by JudgeSlash · · Score: 5, Funny

      My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

    2. Re:Safety first by vbraga · · Score: 4, Funny

      Undergraduates.

      --
      English is not my first language. Corrections and suggestions are welcome.
    3. Re:Safety first by ChemGeek4501 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Naaa...they are graduate students and therefore expendable. ChemGeek4501

    4. Re:Safety first by locokamil · · Score: 2, Funny

      Do not look at laser beam with remaining eye.

    5. Re:Safety first by chriswaco · · Score: 3, Funny

      They aimed it towards Columbus, Ohio.

  4. Yes but... by Johnno74 · · Score: 2, Funny

    This development is clearly useless until the system is miniturised to the point it can be mounted on a shark.

  5. Kegels by Smordnys+s'regrepsA · · Score: 5, Funny

    [It] can perform for 30 femtoseconds once every ten seconds

    That's nothing! I can perform for 3 seconds once every ten minutes!
    --
    Just -1, Troll talking to another.
    1. Re:Kegels by mdenham · · Score: 2, Funny

      I can hammer my six-inch penis through a spike with a board, does that count?

  6. Re:all these strange figures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    hope that clarifies things.

    Nope, it doesn't!

  7. Caution... by Lazarian · · Score: 3, Funny

    Do not stare into laser with remaining head.

  8. Large spinning mirror by tokki · · Score: 3, Funny

    All you would need is a tracking system and a large spinning mirror, and you could vaporize a human target from space.

  9. What comes next... by TBerben · · Score: 5, Funny

    Student: What are we going to do with this immensely powerful laser, professor?
    Professor: We shall commence "Phase 2", we shall place the "la-ser" on something called "the moon"
    Student: And then we can hold the world ransom for a horrendously large amount of money :D
    Professor: Hell no! We're going to wipe all other universities off the face of the Earth!

  10. Re:Not so cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hmmm, joke... about ejaculating.... must resist..... Post Anonymously - check...

  11. Ohio State... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...suddenly begins new research into building even LARGER laser.

    1. Re:Ohio State... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      One should think that they need the universe's most reflective mirror before they go building a larger laser.

  12. Re:Sharks? by ozmanjusri · · Score: 5, Funny

    For very large values of shark.

    --
    "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  13. Re:Possibly... by Provocateur · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yet impressive enough for a Klingon officer to turn and say,

    "Commander, this confirms that the inhabitants are hostile. Shall we assume battle stations?"

    Commander: "We are Klingons. What other stations do we have?"

    --
    WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
  14. Re: Magnifying glasses by ozbird · · Score: 2, Funny

    "If you could hold a giant magnifying glass in space and focus all the sunlight shining toward Earth onto one grain of sand, that concentrated ray would approach the intensity of a new laser beam made in a University of Michigan laboratory ..."

    Please, won't someone think of the ants?!

  15. Re:Not so cool by TheWanderingHermit · · Score: 4, Funny

    Over 100 movies in a year? And you call your viewing time limited? I get to see 2-3 a month, at most right now.

    It may not have been a great "teen flick" but it was certainly a good geek movie.

    Over 100 movies in a year and you haven't heard enough about this to check it out?

    Kid, I've served with geeks: I've known many geeks; geeks are most friends of mine. Kid, you're no geek.

    Consider your geek card revoked (if, indeed, you ever had one).

  16. Re:all these strange figures by hcdejong · · Score: 3, Funny

    hope that clarifies things. Duh, this is Slashdot. We want to know how many Libraries of Congress this laser can vaporize in a fortnight.
  17. Re:Most powerful laser in the universe? by Lehk228 · · Score: 2, Funny

    i'm sure they did consider that possibility, hence the work on high powered lasers.

    --
    Snowden and Manning are heroes.
  18. Re:Not so cool by TheWanderingHermit · · Score: 2, Funny

    The geek doth protest too much, methinks.

    (Some people take themselves WAY too seriously!)

  19. Muhahaha! by Beefslaya · · Score: 3, Funny

    They are going to focus it on the Horseshoe, and vaporize Jim Tressel.

    Watch for the spread offense.

    Go Blue!

  20. Re:FS-Lasers are cool beasts by mav[LAG] · · Score: 2, Funny

    So is crossing the streams good or bad?

    --
    --- Hot Shot City is particularly good.