The Vulcan 20-20 is being built in Oxfordshire and will be able to deliver more power in a single blast than the entire National Grid supply, scientists say
Scientists say the world’s most powerful laserbeam will be “a million, billion, billion times brighter” than the sun.
British experts are in the process of building a super laser which will cost a staggering £85million, a single pulse of which will deliver more power than the National Grid supply. It’s hoped the beam, named the Vulcan 20-20 laser, will speed up advances in nuclear fusion, renewable energy and batteries.
The mega device – which is to be constructed at a site in Oxfordshire – will outshine the current brightest beam ‘the Vulcan’, which can heat matter to a staggering 10million Celsius and helped map how Covid infected and damaged cells during the pandemic. It’s estimated it will take six years to build.
Scientists hope Vulcan 20-20 will provide a better understanding of astrophysical phenomena such as supernovas and solar flares. Experts say it could also be harnessed to study a new particle acceleration method for radiotherapy treatments for cancer.