Latest news with #ZEUS
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
University of Michigan researchers develop nation's most powerful laser
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed the nation's most powerful laser. The latest design has nearly doubled the peak power of any other laser in the country. The team recently conducted its first successful experiment measured at 2 petawatts — 2 quadrillion watts — which is more than 100 times the global electricity output. Sign up for the News 8 daily newsletter That giant number is matched with something almost equally as small. The power surge is an extremely brief pulse, lasting just 25 quintillionths of a second. The laser, known as the Zettawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser system or , is managed by U-M's and supported by the National Science Foundation. Karl Krushelnick, the director of the CUOS, said this latest milestone 'marks the beginning of experiments that move into unexplored territory for American high field science.' Researchers expect the advancements could be applied to several different fields, including medicine, national security and astrophysics. Since it is supported by the NSF, research teams from all over the world can submit experiment proposals for ZEUS. Franklin Dollar, a professor at the University of California-Irvine, is set to lead an experiment at the new power level. 'One of the great things about ZEUS is it's not just one big laser hammer. You can split the light into multiple beams,' he said in a . 'Having a national resource like this, which awards time to users whose experimental concepts are most promising for advancing scientific priorities, is really bringing high-intensity laser science back to the U.S.' University of Michigan launches new $7 billion fundraising campaign CUOS says 'the road to 2 petawatts' has been a long one. The previous laser system, HERCULES, got up to 300 terawatts. ZEUS helped them jump to 1 petawatt. The ZEUS team has already spent more than a year running experiments at that level. ZEUS requires many special pieces to make it work, including a 7-inch sapphire crystal that is infused with titanium atoms. ZEUS project manager Franko Bayer says they are already working on another one that will help them get even stronger. 'The crystal that we're going to get in the summer will get us to 3 petawatts, and it took four-and-a-half years to manufacture,' Bayer said in the blog post. 'The size of the titanium sapphire crystal we have, there are only a few in the world.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Gizmodo
20-05-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
ZEUS Is Officially America's Most Powerful Laser, With 2-Petawatt Blast
The ZEUS laser, tucked away (as much as a giant laser can be) at the University of Michigan, just cranked out a pulse that makes it the most powerful laser beam in the country. ZEUS' peak power topped out at 2 petawatts, or a staggering 2 quadrillion watts, roughly 100 times the entire planet's power output. Of course, that level of energy is fleeting; the pulse lasts just 25 quintillionths of a second—just enough time for researchers to do some pretty revolutionary science. 'This milestone marks the beginning of experiments that move into unexplored territory for American high field science,' said Karl Krushelnick, director of the Gérard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, where ZEUS is housed, in a Michigan release. ZEUS is short for Zettawatt Equivalent Ultrashort laser pulse System, and its power (at the risk of blasphemy) rivals that of the king of the Greek gods, who famously wields a lightning bolt as a symbol of his power. ZEUS is funded by the National Science Foundation, and scientists from around the world can apply to run experiments there—similar to the Linac Coherent Light Source II (or LCLS-II) at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Like LCLS-II—whose domain ranges from understanding photosynthesis and the cores of stars—the applications of ZEUS' laser range from plasma and quantum physics to medical imaging, particle acceleration, and materials research. 'The energy of the individual photons in a pulse from LCLS is about 20,000 times greater than the photons from the ZEUS laser—but the peak power is 100,000 times lower,' Krushelnick told Gizmodo in an email. Krushelnick added that the use cases of ZEUS are manifold, but measuring physics at extreme intensities, the development of new radiation sources, laboratory astrophysics and imaging small-scale materials are a few of its principal scientific uses. Franklin Dollar, a physicist at UC Irvine, will run the first 2-petawatt user experiment, aiming to produce electron beams with energies comparable to those from long particle accelerators. Should he and his team succeed, the electron beam energies will be between 5 and 10 times higher than any beams ZEUS has yet produced. ZEUS will accelerate electrons using wakefield acceleration, by which electrons essentially surf on plasma to accelerate to extremely high speeds. 'The quest for higher peak power lasers enables studies of the fundamental nature of light in the limit of extremely high instantaneous electromagnetic fields,' said Vyacheslav Lukin, program director in the NSF Division of Physics, which oversees the ZEUS project, in an email to Gizmodo. 'Just as ocean waves begin to break and foam as they get higher, electromagnetic waves act differently when the light becomes very intense and the electromagnetic field gets extremely strong.' The beam isn't just powerful—it's quite large. At its biggest, the laser pulse is one foot (0.3 meters) across and several feet long, according to the Michigan release. But the pulse is ultimately focused down to just 0.8 microns wide, to maximize the number of laser pulses available for experiments on ZEUS. But the big show is set for later this year, when the facility will get a titanium-infused sapphire crystal that will increase the laser's power to three petawatts. The crystal took nearly five years to manufacture and is about 7 inches (0.18 m) across. ZEUS' electrons will smash into laser pulses from the opposite direction, increasing the experiment's pulse to essentially zettawatt-scale in the frame of reference of the particle beam. About 15 months of user experiments have already been conducted on ZEUS' single petawatt laser, but now the facility is capable of hitting much more powerful energy pulses. With the new and improved laser, the team can better interrogate some of the universe's most fundamental physics, with implications across the sciences.
The Verge
20-05-2025
- Science
- The Verge
The most powerful laser in the US recently produced 2 quadrillion watts of power
The University of Michigan has announced that its Zettawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser System (ZEUS) produced 2 petawatts, or 2 quadrillion watts of power during its first experiment. That's more than '100 times the global electricity power output,' according to the university, but don't expect it to be harnessed to recreate the Death Star. Those intensely powerful blasts last just 25 quintillionths of a second long, and will be used for experiments in various areas of research including medicine, quantum physics, and materials science. Funded by the US National Science Foundation, ZEUS cost $16 million to build and includes components like 7-inch sapphire crystals infused with titanium atoms that took over four years to manufacture. 'The size of the titanium sapphire crystal we have, there are only a few in the world,' says ZEUS' project manager, Franko Bayer. Operating ZEUS isn't as easy as pressing a button on a handheld laser pointer. The power of an initial infrared pulse from a laser is increased using pump lasers that increase its energy. The power is gradually increased through four rounds of these pump lasers, but to ensure the pulse 'doesn't get so intense that it starts tearing the air apart,' it passes through optical devices called diffraction gratings that stretch it out. The pulse ends up being 12 inches across and a few feet long, but eventually it enters vacuum chambers where additional gratings flatten it down to just 0.8 microns wide so its maximum power intensity can be delivered to experiments. The first experiment, conducted by Franklin Dollar, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine, targeted the laser pulse at a cell containing helium. The collision 'produces plasma, ripping electrons off the atoms so that the gas becomes a soup of free electrons and positively charged ions. Those electrons get accelerated behind the laser pulse-like wakesurfers close behind a speedboat, a phenomenon called wakefield acceleration.' The experiment is designed to eventually produce electron beams that are as powerful as those created by particle accelerators but without the need for expensive hardware installations that are often hundreds of meters in length. Housed in a facility the size of a school gymnasium at the university's Gérard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, ZEUS is the successor to the center's HERCULES laser that reached a maximum power output of 300 terawatts in 2007. First announced in 2022, ZEUS' current power output is roughly double the peak power of other lasers in the US, and it's designed to eventually deliver up to 3 petawatts. But while ZEUS is the most powerful laser in the US, it's still less powerful than the laser at the European ELI-NP laboratory in Măgurele, Romania that peaks at 10 petawatts of power.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The US test fired its most power laser ever
A laser named after the most powerful god in ancient Greece is living up to its name. According to the University of Michigan, the first official experiment from the Zettawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser System (ZEUS) yielded 2 petawatts (2 quadrillion watts) of power. For reference, that's more than 100 times the electricity output across the entire planet—but you'll likely miss it if you blink. The school gym-sized ZEUS is the successor to the university's HERCULES system, which topped out at 300 terawatts. ZEUS relied on a reconfigured target for its debut demonstration, which required firing a laser pulse at a cell containing helium. The subsequent interaction produced plasma as it tore electrons away from the helium atoms, resulting in a mixture of both positive ions and free electrons. The electrons started gaining speed behind the laser pulse in a phenomenon known as wakefield acceleration. Because light moves slower in plasma, the electrons can catch up to the laser beam. Those free electrons also get more time to speed up given the size of the target chamber and thereby hit higher speeds. The recent demonstration is a prelude to the signature ZEUS experiment scheduled for later this year. In that test, the accelerating electrons will also smack into laser pulses coming from the opposite direction. This is where things get (even) more complicated—but to condense it down, the effect makes a 3-petawatt laser appear one million times more powerful, hence the 'zettawatt-equivalent' in ZEUS' name. Accomplishing this and other experimental feats does require some safeguards. ZEUS includes optical devices known as diffraction gratings that stretch out the initial infrared pulse over time. This ensures the initial power doesn't get so intense that it begins tearing apart the air around it. Another goal is to ultimately create beams of electrons with energies similar to those found in particle accelerators hundreds of feet longer than ZEUS at a fraction of both its size and operating costs. At only $16 million to construct, the University of Michigan previously described the machine as a 'bargain.' Years of construction, calibration, and expertise is showcased in an astoundingly short amount of time. ZEUS' 2 petawatt firing lasted just 25 quintillionths of a second. But future experiments will make the most of these moments. 'The fundamental research done at the NSF ZEUS facility has many possible applications, including better imaging methods for soft tissues and advancing the technology used to treat cancer and other diseases,' explained Vyacheslav Lukin, program director in the National Science d Division of Physics, which is responsible for the ZEUS project. Meanwhile, ZEUS experiments could also help researchers explore the dynamics of positron jets that shoot out of black holes, or how gamma ray bursts operate. 'One of the great things about ZEUS is it's not just one big laser hammer, but you can split the light into multiple beams,' said Franklin Dollar, a University of California professor of physics and astronomy who oversaw the 2 petawatt experiment. 'Having a national resource like this, which awards time to users whose experimental concepts are most promising for advancing scientific priorities, is really bringing high-intensity laser science back to the U.S.'
Business Mayor
27-04-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
BTC Bull Token ICO Hits $5M As Analyst Gives Bullish Prediction: Best Crypto To Buy?
BTC Bull Token (BTCBULL) has just blasted through the $5 million mark in its ICO. This Bitcoin-linked meme coin is generating serious buzz by promising actual BTC airdrops when Bitcoin hits milestone prices. And with one top analyst predicting 'huge' returns post-listing, BTCBULL is quickly becoming a hot topic. How BTCBULL Works – Airdrops, Token Burns, and Staking Rewards BTC Bull Token's setup is drawing lots of attention. Think of it as your ticket to Bitcoin's next bull run – without needing to shell out $90K+ for a whole coin. Here's how it works: When Bitcoin hits key price milestones (starting at $150K and moving up in $50K chunks), BTCBULL holders get actual Bitcoin airdropped to their wallets. If you get involved in the ICO, you're first in line for these payouts. BTCBULL's team also burns tokens at various Bitcoin price points ($125K, $175K, and $225K), permanently removing them from circulation. Some bulls just want to watch fiat burn. 🔥 — BTCBULL_TOKEN (@BTCBULL_TOKEN) April 23, 2025 This approach helps create scarcity, which tends to push prices up over time. And then there's the staking rewards on offer. Early stakers can generate an annual yield of 82%, although this yield will decrease gradually as more people get involved. However, that hasn't stopped investors from locking up over 1.2 billion BTCBULL tokens already. The project's Telegram channel members see BTCBULL as a way to bet on Bitcoin's price action while receiving a sort of 'dividend' along the way. Crypto Analyst Predicts 'Huge 2025' as BTCBULL ICO Raises $5M With BTCBULL's ICO price sitting at $0.00248, investors have less than 48 hours before the next price hike kicks in. The ICO has been gaining serious momentum, with options to buy using crypto, bank cards, or directly through the Best Wallet app – making it accessible to new traders. BTCBULL's team has also set aside 10% of the supply for initial liquidity. Popular analyst Crypto ZEUS , who has a sizable following on YouTube, released a video about BTC Bull Token last week. ZEUS is extremely bullish on BTCBULL's unique milestone system, believing it could create massive wealth for holders if Bitcoin goes on another bull run. He also pointed out the lack of bull-themed meme coins in today's market. Most meme coins focus on dogs, cats, or frogs, yet BTCBULL takes an entirely different approach that could help it stand out. All in all, Crypto ZEUS is optimistic, predicting BTCBULL could have a 'huge 2025.' Is BTCBULL the Perfect Leveraged Play for Bitcoin's Next Price Milestones? So, what does the future hold for BTCBULL ? If you invest in BTCBULL, you're essentially making a bet on Bitcoin's future – with some interesting twists. Bitcoin hitting $125K, $150K, or even $200K this year isn't some crazy fantasy. With institutional money still flowing in and supply getting squeezed, these milestones could happen faster than most people expect. And that's where BTCBULL could prove lucrative. The first time Bitcoin crosses these thresholds, tokens will be burned (reducing supply) or holders will receive airdrops (increasing demand). It's a double-whammy that could boost gains far beyond what holding Bitcoin alone would give you. When Bitcoin runs, investors tend to look for higher beta plays. BTCBULL positions itself as one of these plays, and given the size of its X (Twitter) community , it's already building the kind of momentum that could translate into serious FOMO once exchange listings are announced. The $5 million milestone might be just the beginning of what could become one of 2025's most talked-about token launches if Bitcoin continues to rise. Visit BTC Bull Token ICO
