The most powerful laser in the US recently produced 2 quadrillion watts of power
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Summary
University of Michigan’s Zettawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser System (ZEUS) is now the most powerful in the US.
During its first experimental use, it generated 2 quadrillion watts, but the pulse only lasted 25 quintillionths of a second.
The laser is aimed to be used for experiments across medicine, physics, and materials science, for example, creating plasma by hitting helium atoms.
Powered by infrared light pumped up by additional lasers, it is designed to be focused on a target the size of a cell so the university plans to increase its intensity to 3 petawatts.
While this is the most powerful laser in the US, Europe’s ELI-NP laboratory reaches up to 10 petawatts.