Rochester's Omega Laser Goes Petawatt - Another Step Toward Sustainable Fusion
The University of Rochester will mark another important step in the effort toward attaining sustainable fusion, the ultimate source of clean energy, Friday, May 16. University President Joel Seligman, along with special guests, will dedicate the new Omega EP (Extended Performance) laser facility at the Robert L. Sproull Center for Ultra High Intensity Laser Research at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). The Omega EP comprises a new set of four ultra-high-intensity laser beams that will unleash more than a petawatt—a million billion watts—of power onto a target just a millimeter across. Working in conjunction with LLE's original 60-beam Omega laser, the Omega EP will open the door to a new concept called "fast ignition," which may be able to dramatically increase the energy derived from fusion experiments and provide a possible new avenue toward clean fusion power. If successful, fast ignition could lead to the highest energy densities ever achieved in a laboratory. read more
Read the whole article on Scientific Blogging
More from Scientific Blogging
Related
- Powerful laser sheds light on fast ignition and high energy density physicsMon, 2 Nov 2009, 23:18:03 EST
- LANL Roadrunner models nonlinear physics of high-power lasersWed, 28 Oct 2009, 12:35:56 EDT
- Researchers use trident laser to accelerate protons to record energiesMon, 2 Nov 2009, 10:44:03 EST
- Science begins at the world's most powerful X-ray laserMon, 2 Nov 2009, 11:57:58 EST
- High-performance plasmas may make reliable, efficient fusion power a realityMon, 2 Nov 2009, 11:57:53 EST