opticallaser

Latest

  • Getty Images/iStockphoto

    Optical laser uses shockwaves to peer inside distant planets

    by 
    Rachel England
    Rachel England
    08.16.2017

    Scientists at SLAC's National Accelerator Laboratory are able to peer even further into space thanks to an improved optical laser. The laser uses shockwaves to create high pressure conditions in materials, and the material's response is then captured by an ultra-bright X-ray laser, revealing what's going on inside planets and meteors. Upgrades to the optical laser means it's now three times more powerful, with the equivalent power of 17 Teslas discharging their 100 kilowatt-hour batteries in a single second.