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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/gadgets/U_M_creates_most_intense_laser_in_the_universe’; Rest assured, we’ve seen some wicked frickin’ lasers in our day, but apparently, even the two-kilowatt rendition that heats coffee in mere seconds can’t hold a candle ray of light to HERCULES. Intentionally named in all caps by University of Michigan gurus in order to highlight its awesomeness, said laser contains 300 terawatts of potential (or 300 times the capacity of the entire US electricity grid) and could “help scientists develop better proton and electron beams

for radiation treatment of cancer.” Still, we can’t help but conclude with UMich’s own description of that masterpiece: “If you could hold a giant magnifying glass in space and focus all the sunlight shining toward Earth onto one grain of sand, that concentrated ray would approach the intensity of [HERCULES].” Damn.

[Via Physorg]

 

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Original post by Darren Murph

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 16th, 2008 at 9:04 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.