The most powerful laser in the United States is currently working to transmit its first pulses this week – allowing researchers to gain a new level of insight into the physics of plasma and particle accelerators.
Known as the Zetawatt Ultra Short Pulsed Equivalent Laser System (ZEUS), this system produces extremely short and powerful pulses of just 25 femtoseconds, one millionth of a second.
As the laser’s capabilities increase, it will eventually be used to study some of the most exotic phenomena in the universe on a laboratory scale: the physics of gamma-ray bursts or a black hole.
“ZEUS will be the highest-powered laser in the United States among the most powerful laser systems in the world,” said astrophysicist Karl Kruchelnik of the University of Michigan.
ZEUS will start with a smaller range and then increase: the first part of the laser operation is known as the high frequency target area, which uses pulses of higher frequency but lower power.
This first stage will require 30 terawatts (30 trillion watts) of power – an impressive amount, but only a fraction of what ZEUS can do. The power of energy will be used to study a new type of X-ray imaging.
The researchers want to create compact X-ray pulses from beams of highly excited electrons by sending infrared laser pulses from ZEUS into helium gas, which then turns into plasma. These X-ray pulses can be used as a very precise method for imaging soft tissues.
By the end of 2023, ZEUS should examine some of the most intense objects in space, as well as conduct large-scale experiments in fields spanning quantum physics, data security, materials science, remote sensing and medical diagnostics. .
A laser field uses a so-called colliding beam geometry, where the laser pulse is split into two parts: one of the pulses can be used to accelerate electrons into a high-speed beam, which can be directed to please contact. again with a second laser pulse.
This results in a simulation that is a million times stronger than the actual capacity that ZEUS can produce in a single pulse.
Scientists continue to make significant progress in making lasers more versatile, robust and powerful than ever before – meaning experiments can be carried out on larger and larger scales.
The team behind the development and launch of ZEUS makes the laser available to researchers around the world. Scientists interested in using it can submit their proposals for approval.
Source: Science Alert
Source: Arabic RT
