The University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics has just put their new Omega EP Laser on line with a petawatt (10 to the 15th) of power. They hope to kick off fusion reactions with the powerful beams of light.
I’ve toured the lab multiple times. They have a basement full of large capacitors to store the electric charge necessary to fire the lasers since they require so much energy the powerlines simply can’t cope. The beams are focused using an intricate set of mirrors that don’t tolerate dust. One speck of dust can cause a mirror to heat up during firing and explode. The Omega was in a room with a large crane and flecks of yellow paint on the mirrors was a continuing problem. It looks like the Omega EP is in a cleaner facility.
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