World's most powerful laser to be built in Oxford
The world's most powerful laser is to be built at the Central Laser Facility at Harwell, the institution has announced.
The £82 million laser will be 20 times more powerful than the facility's current most powerful laser – the Vulcan, which is used in plasma physics.
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The Vulcan 20-20 will have eight additional beams, making it the strongest laser in the world.
A single pulse from the laser will deliver more power than the entire National Grid, in a blast lasting a trillionth of a second on a minuscule target.
Construction of the laser will take six years to complete, creating a number of jobs in the science sector, as well as for designers, engineers and technicians.
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"The ground-breaking power of Vulcan 20-20 may mean we will be able to conduct physics experiments that step into brand new unknowns and explore beyond the present Standard Model," said the CLF in a statement.
