The most powerful laser in the world: the ZEUS laser installation was launched in the USA

Dmytro Kazantsev - 20 May, 08:13 PM

The new ZEUS laser facility at the University of Michigan has reached a revolutionary level of power, generating a short pulse of light with an output power that exceeds the entire world's electricity consumption by a hundred times.

As reported by Interesting Engineering, this powerful laser facility has set a new US record, reaching two petawatts (2 quadrillion watts) of peak power, almost double the performance of its closest competitors.

It is noted that the enormous power of the ZEUS laser lasted only 25 quintillionths of a second, but this moment could launch new scientific discoveries.

According to the director of the Gerard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optics, Karl Krushelnik, this research marks the beginning of experiments that open up uncharted territories for American science. We are talking about wide-ranging applications in medicine, national security, astrophysics, and quantum physics.

The publication also said that the walls of the facility, which houses the Zettawatt Equivalent Ultrashort laser pulse System, or ZEUS, are lined with a 60-centimeter concrete shield to contain radiation, and the system itself is the successor to the HERCULES system, which had a maximum power of 300 terawatts.

Scientists believe that the incredibly powerful and concentrated laser energy will allow them to explore fundamental quantum mechanics, simulate cosmic events, and much more. The two-petawatt milestone is reportedly a key milestone on the way to the ZEUS "signature experiment," which could take place this year.

In this experiment, accelerated electrons will collide head-on with laser pulses traveling in the opposite direction. The 3-petawatt laser pulse will be a million times more powerful — effectively a zettawatt-scale pulse. According to PopSci, the ZEUS facility cost $16 million to build.

Recall that India is developing its own directed energy weapons and recently took a significant step in the development of this technology, completing large-scale tests of the new Mk-II(A) laser system. According to the Indian defense ministry, the laser system has reached a range of 3.5 km, providing high accuracy of targeting and speed of target destruction. The Mk-II(A) is based on a 30-kilowatt laser capable of destroying light helicopters and drones at a distance of up to 5 km.