Japanese scientists sent a laser blast which is a test shot of what they claim to be the world's most powerful laser beam.
Researchers and scientists from the Institute of Laser Engineering in Osaka University carried out an experiment where they discovered that the Laser for Fast Ignition Experiments (LFEX) is apparently the planet's most powerful laser beam in existence.
The technology behind LFEX is that it surprisingly does not take up too much energy where it utilized a 2 petawatt pulse. This is equivalent to 2 quadrillion watts blasted for one trillionth of a second. In comparison, the LFEX is 1000 times greater than collecting all the world's electricity consumption.
During their experiments, the researchers used glass lamp-like devices that are similar to fluorescent tubes where the laser beam passes through. The main role of these glass lamps is to amplify the power of the laser beam in a repetitive manner until the experiment yielded a result of the test fire that releases a 2 petawatt pulse.
In an ironic twist, this type energy that was released is only equivalent to the amount of power needed by a microwave oven to run for only two seconds.
However in physics terms, the watt is equal to the energy given over a certain amount of time. This means that the Laser Engineering team from Osaka is searching for a time span in relation to a pico second or one trillionth of a second. The experiments revealed that the LFEX only needed roughly a hundred joules where the glass lamps amplified the power of the beam and transformed it into the most powerful laser beam ever blasted.
The worldwide demand and competition is intense, where improving laser capacities are pushing the researchers' team to provide the best results where they aim to reach a massive 10 petawatts, says associate professor of electrical engineering, Junji Kawanaka.
The world's most powerful laser beam possesses a length of 300 feet that includes the device where a set of four devices are used to amplify the laser beam.