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Since its introduction in the 1977 film "Star Wars," the Death Star has remained one of science fiction's most iconic figures. The image of Alderaan's destruction at the hands of the Death Star's superlaser is burned into the memory of millions of fans.
Scientists and laser experts have maintained that this superbeam could never work due to the properties of lasers—theory says that rather than converging and combining their energy, the beams would just pass through one another.
That was true—until now. A team of researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have added a plasma—a charged mixture of ions and free electrons—to the concept and successfully combined several separate lasers into a superbeam. This work was recently published in Nature Physics, and is a next step in LLNL's 50-year history of leadership in laser research and development.
While this superbeam isn't quite as "super" as the one depicted in science fiction, it stands as an important achievement—for the first time, nine of the National Ignition Facility's (NIF) 192 laser beams were combined to produce a directed pulse of light that was nearly four times the energy of any of the individual beams. Leveraging LLNL's expertise in optics research and development, the team used a Livermore-designed plasma optic to combine the beams and produce this first demonstration of its kind.
Death Star DIYers take note.
(Score: 5, Funny) by LoRdTAW on Wednesday October 18 2017, @12:46PM (2 children)
<raspy old man voice> Excellent. Everything is going according to plan.
(phone rings)
Yessss....
Hi mr palpatine, this is josh hewers with Chase capital investment calling you about your business plan.
Yessss....
Well Mr. Palpatine, I'm looking to clear a few things up. It appears you are looking to take out a loan for 150 billion USD to build.... what's that bluprint showing, a small moon?
Noooooo. It's a sssspace station. I plan to-
Let me stop you right there mr Palpatine. Look, we appreciate your business but there is no way we can loan you 150 billion dollars to build a moon.
Sssspace sssstation!
Right, space station. Well we arent in the business of financing such a venture. Perhaps you could call that Musk fellow.
I'll do that!
Yes, you do that mr Palpatine. Thank you for calling chase. Have a good day.
(dialing sound)
Hello Mr Musk this is Emperor Palpatine and- ..... oh, this is his assistant?..... Gofer to the assistant's assistant? What even is that- never mind. Can you take a message? Yes tell him an Emperor Palpatine has- Palpatine, P A L P A T I N E. Palpatine. Emperor.... No that's my title.....listen can you just take a message for me. Where am I from? Naboo? What kind of question- oh what company, I'm not with any company. (click) Hello? Hello? Dammit.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday October 18 2017, @01:12PM
Naboo is a small town in Illinois [wikipedia.org]. First home for the young Mormon church. Place where Joseph Smith was lynched by locals who didn't like the young Mormon church.
True story.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 3, Funny) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Wednesday October 18 2017, @01:40PM
Naboo? I thought Palpatine hailed originally from Germany, and later moved to Vatican city.