The Brightest Light On Earth
A laboratory in Texas has produced a light brighter than sunlight on the surface of the sun.
Prof Todd Ditmire, with help from colleagues at the Texas Center for High-Intensity Laser Science at The University of Texas at Austin, has flipped the switch on the $14 million Texas Petawatt laser. Thank God he had his shades on.
The Texas Petawatt laser is so named because it generates one thousand million million watts of laser power, making it the most powerful laser in the world. While the laser can’t yet destroy an entire planet, I do feel confident that VP Darth Cheney will be arriving to inspect it soon.
The Petawatt laser generates 2,000 times the power output of all the power plants in the United States — but only for a 10th of a trillionth of a second. Still, you can’t just suck that kind of juice out of a typical wall socket. Ditmire explains:
To fire up the Texas laser, electrical charge has to be pumped into twenty 20,000-volt capacitors. These capacitors energize the amplification tubes that pump up the energy of the laser light beam. Each tube contains an amplifying material, usually glass, that is “excited” by lamps powered by the capacitors. Every time the laser passes through one of these sheets of glass it gains more energy.
Ditmire and friends plan to use the laser to create and study matter at temperatures greater than those inside the sun — temperatures so high that gases break down into a soup of particles called a plasma. In the coming months, they will explore atronomical phenomena on a tiny scale, creating tabletop stars, min-supernovas, and studying advanced ideas for creating energy with controlled fusion.
Read more Amazing, Orgasmic, and Fantastic Facts: Amasnic Fact Off Archive.
Read More: Texas Petawatt Laser, Todd Ditmire, Center for High-Intensity Laser Science, University of Texas, Austin
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As I see it, the Chinese have allready stolen this new technology, and in about a month they will have knock offs flooding our store shelves, so that everyone can play with this new lasers at home.
I hear Exxon just bought the patent and will only allow the Chinese to make a version that runs off oil, too. Oil futures based on this move are expected to send the price of a barrel skyrocketing tomorrow ;-)
I think I just heard that the administration just ordered one for each member of the administration. Given Gen. Petraus’ statement: “I have seen no light at the end of any tunnel”, they want to avoid any future embare-ass-ments.
They have also asked for “add-ons: The ability to see around corners and also in case the tunnel happens to do a 180 on them…a reflector shield, so they can re-direct it on Democrats and they won’t get poked in the eye.
Shame on you Joe and Xman for making light of this very serious subject.
I know it’s bad, but I couldn’t resist it.
Pelmo,
I’m not keeping score, hopefully, no one is keeping score of me.
A fine Torano 1916 and a Sam Adams Hefe, do seem to improve the quality of my discourse, however.
Xman,
I try and improve mine with some of Scotland’s finest single malts. Those distillers have found a nectar fit for the gods.
A cold bottle of Yuengling traditional lager worked wonders for me this afternoon…
Hey Joe,
Were you with Senator Clinton?
The below was on Huffpost:
“While at a campaign stop in western PA Hillary Clinton asked a patron at a bar if she could “get a gob of that there Red man”. He offered an open pouch and she dug in and extracted a “gob” as she called it. She put it in her mouth and chewed it for awhile as other patrons started to gather around in amazement. She then swallowed and chased with a full glass of Yuengling beer, said “that was refreshing”, BELCHED and swiftly walked out of the bar.
Senator Clinton has not been seen today.”
Wow, Hillary had a shot of Crown Royal, too, before the beer. Good girl. Whiskey before beer, never fear. Beer before whiskey, very risky. She got it right, but sabotaged her stomach with that Red Man ;-)
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