Star Wars enthusiasts will never forget that super cool high-tech super laser used by Death Star. Fans will be happy to learn that the super laser is not science fiction anymore but a reality as a team of scientists developed a similar one in real life.
A team of scientists from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia combined multiple single laser beams and created a super laser. The researchers said that they were able to produce that by using ultrapure diamond crystal. All the single laser beams pass through this crystal and become one powerful beam without losing its energy because of distortion. The lasers combine at the center of the crystal and efficiently combines different wavelengths. Aside from wavelengths, the crystal can also dissolve thermal energy very efficiently.
According to Rich Mildren, an associate professor in physics at the university, they are developing high-powered lasers to fight the increasing threats to security caused by the proliferation of drones and increasing sophistication of the missile technology.
High-powered laser weaponry can do much more damage than a 500-pound bomb. For example, a 30-Kw laser can destroy a small boat or UAV from a distance more efficiently and silently since laser moves at the speed of light.
Because laser beams are silent, the enemy cannot know they are under attack until they see physical evidence of the damage it created. And because it is very fast, it can easily point at a target and blast it immediately.
Aside from military applications, high-powered laser beams are also needed in space applications especially in eliminating the increasing space junk that might threaten satellites.
The study is published in the journal Laser and Photonic Reviews where the scientists detailed the method how they were able to create the super laser.
