The US has a new most powerful laser hitting 2 petawatts

Experts Karl Krushelnick See full bio Director of the Gérard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Science Henry J Gomberg Collegiate Professor of Engineering Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences Anatoly Maksimchuk See full bio Research Scientist in Electrical and Computer Engineering John Nees See full bio Research Scientist in Electrical and Computer Engineering Franko Bayer See full bio Project Manager for Zettawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort Pulse Laser System (ZEUS) The ZEUS laser facility at the University of Michigan has roughly doubled the peak power of any other laser in the U.S. with its first official experiment at 2 petawatts (2 quadrillion watts). At more than 100 times the global electricity power output, this huge power lasts only for the brief duration of its laser pulse—just 25 quintillionths of a second long. “This milestone marks the beginning of experiments that move into unexplored territory for American high field science,” said Karl Krushelnick, ... Read full article.