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Published online 18 February 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.608
News: Briefing
The most intense laser in the Universe
A record-breaking beam has been developed at the University of Michigan. Nature News finds out how powerful it is, and what it will be used for.
Is this really the most intense laser in the Universe?
Yes, that’s what scientists working on the HERCULES laser at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor claim. “It is the highest-intensity laser that has been shown,” says Karl Krushelnick, a member of the team running the experiment.
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KS writes " And you’ll have ten seconds to move the 1.3 micrometres needed to get out of the way before the next pulse comes along." I'm not a physicist, and obviously this point is tongue-in-cheek, but if you move 1.3 microns you don't "get out of the way" you just move the burn to a new spot on your body.
Unless of course you got hit 1.3 microns in...
There is a statement in this article which uses a form which is all too common in scientific writing (and many other types of writing) today. It is a misused verbal expression of a mathematical operation. The statement is: "about a hundred times thinner". It should be realized that it is impossible for anything to be to be more than one times thinner; one times thinner results in a size of zero. It should be obvious that it should have been worded ...times as thin. The literature is full of examples using similar expressions. I have found that, when the original numbers being compared are stated, it most often should say as large, as many, as great, etc. This misuse of language results in an uncertainty in what exact numbers it is supposed to represent. If one considers the mathematics being described, n times as great = (n-1) times greater. Note that using ntimes greater merely results in an uncertainty, while ntimes smaller results in an impossibility. I believe that much of the reason for the use of the greater/lesser form is the editorial preference for variety in forms of expression. The effect on precise meaning suffers when, as in this case, the real meaning is not considered. J H Crary
The title is so ambiguous! What if extraterrials have invented lasers? Then we can't really tell if this one is the most powerful in the whole Universe. :)
edit: intense, not powerful.
James Crary writes: "The statement is: 'about a hundred times thinner'. It should be realized that it is impossible for anything to be to be more than one times thinner; one times thinner results in a size of zero. It should be obvious that it should have been worded ...times as thin." Well, I'm a linguist, and it's not obvious to me. In fact I can't figure out what the difference is; both seem to me to mean the same thing.
In terms of J. Crary comment... This article is complete BS. Starting from the title. "The most intense laser in the Universe"? How do they know I do not have laser 10 times AS POWERFUL in my basement? How can the be so sure? And WTH does it mean "...almost travelling at the speed of light..."? "Almost" means what? 90%? 99%? 150%? Who knows. The authors have to be more specific and learn English before working on lasers.
The world is full of people that knows English to its best and just few capable to know something about building such a grate laser. They need much less time to learn English better then us to learn just little more about their greatest intense laser. I wish them luck and to others...a valid unite to measure self pride. I think all of us may price their achievement and be pride of mankind victory! English is just a language(x) between others but this laser is the best between others. I will ever praise the dolphin flight above the ocean water...and have always something to learn. What about you?