Super duper high powered lasers

[steve001]

Researchers have demonstrated a record-high laser pulse intensity of over 1023 W/cm2 using the petawatt laser at the Center for Relativistic Laser Science (CoReLS), Institute for Basic Science in the Republic of Korea. It took more than a decade to reach this laser intensity, which is ten times that reported by a team at the University of Michigan in 2004. These ultrahigh intensity light pulses will enable exploration of complex interactions between light and matter in ways not possible before.<br>
https://phys.org/news/2021-05-laser-pulses-record-breaking-intensity.html<br>
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Toward exawatt-class lasers<br>
Ultra-intense lasers with ultra-short pulses and ultra-high energies are powerful tools for exploring unknowns in physics, cosmology, material science, etc. With the help of chirped pulse amplification (CPA) (2018 Nobel Prize in Physics), the current record has reached 10 petawatts (or 1016 Watts). In a study recently published in Scientific Reports, researchers from Osaka University proposed a concept for next-generation ultra-intense lasers with a simulated peak power up to the exawatt class (1 exawatt equals 1000 petawatts).

 

[WizardG]

That's 10 to the 23rd power watts/cm2. Frikin' bright!

 

[gazer101]

Still quite a ways away from the Schwinger limit that would need to be reached to allow pair production (for say converting energy into matter). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwinger_limit

According to my (possibly faulty, please correct me if I am wrong) calculations:
In order for a 445nm laser--focused to a point 445nm in diameter--to reach this limit, it would need to have an output power of ~3.6 * 10^20 W

AKA ~2.4 * 10^29 W/cm^2 (note that any laser will need to have this intensity to break the Schwinger limit)

We just need to make the laser a million times more powerful and we're good to go!

 

[Photon Master]

I literally just heard about this too! I wonder why you don’t see handheld pulse lasers that can punch holes through metal, etc. I’d happy buy one that gives 10 high powered shots from a 21700 battery and keep extras

 

[WizardG]

It's a super short, super high intensity pulse coming out of this thing. I don't think heating or ablation as we usually think about them applies to a pulse like this. Think shock waves instead.

 

[gazer101]

Punching holes through things (with say a gun) requires far less energy than vaporizing a hole through them (with a laser)

 

[WizardG]

Punching holes through things (with say a gun) requires far less energy than vaporizing a hole through them (with a laser)

We need more efficient lasers

 

[Photon Master]

I’m looking forward to Atom lasers: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom_laser

“
The advantage of atom lasers is that atoms are heavier than electrons or photons, allowing them to carry significantly more energy. An atom laser might deliver several nanograms of atoms at a high fraction of the speed of light. Unlike a bullet, all that mass is piled on top of itself, so all the energy is delivered at once. My rough estimates put a single shot from a boser in the region of 2 megajoules, or about half a kilogram of TNT. If that energy is delivered over only a few nanoseconds, its destructive power is magnified greatly.

Unlike lasers, however, the method they inflict damage isn't heat. Lasers damage objects by pumping heat into an area faster than it can be dissipated, forcing it to melt, evaporate or explode. Laser light is absorbed by electrons, whereas an atom laser beam would be absorbed by atoms. Molecules in the target will shatter as their atoms are barraged with so much kinetic energy that the chemical bonds break, releasing large amounts of heat. A shot from a boser bores a hole in an object, vaporising material by sheer concussive force.”

 

[perspectiva]

Researchers at the Center for Relativistic Laser Science (CoReLS) at the Institute for Basic Science in the Republic of Korea have demonstrated a record-high laser pulse intensity of over 1023 W/cm2 using the petawatt laser. This level of intensity was achieved after more than a decade of research and is ten times greater than the intensity reported by a team at the University of Michigan in 2004. This ultrahigh-intensity light pulse will enable the exploration of complex interactions between light and matter in ways that were not previously possible.
The development of ultra-intense lasers with ultra-short pulses and ultra-high energies is a powerful tool for exploring unknowns in various fields such as physics, cosmology, and material science. With the help of chirped pulse amplification (CPA) which is a technique that was awarded with the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics, the current record has reached 10 petawatts (or 1016 Watts). Researchers from Osaka University have proposed a concept for next-generation ultra-intense lasers with a simulated peak power up to the exawatt class (1 exawatt equals 1000 petawatts). This research opens up new possibilities for the exploration of unknowns in various fields and will help researchers to push the boundaries of science further.

 

[kecked]

1023w/cm2. Does seem like much at all. Is that Tera or gigawatt or something?

 

[WizardG]

10 to the 23rd power w/cm squared. Trying to imagine what a pulse like that would do to a hard target. Seems like it would generate a shock wave rather than melting or vaporizing anything.

 

[kecked]

Ah. My browser didn’t show it as an exponent. My god that would just vaporize and then plasmitize matter. It would strip off all the electrons. You’d have a stream of nuclei. It might drive the electrons into the nuclei and make neutrons and then even fission the result. Likely just strip the electrons. Wow.