Researchers have created a model that suggests that the peak energy of gamma ray lasers could be massively increased:
Previous simulations have suggested that as laser peak powers reach lofty petawatt levels, the laser field itself can start to run into fundamental limits. Those limits are tied to strong-field quantum electrodynamic (QED) effects, which can, through complex feedbacks, eventually sap the energy of the laser field driving them. As a result, it's generally been assumed that efficient gamma-ray production from these new petawatt-peak-power lasers would be limited to energies well under a billion electron volts (GeV).
Now, researchers from Sweden, Russia and the United Kingdom have re-crunched the numbers, and suggested that this fundamental limit might not be so fundamental after all (Phys. Rev. X, doi: 10.1103/PhysRevX.7.041003). The team's modeling suggests that, by tweaking the laser pulse intensity and duration in the right way, it's possible to tune the system to minimize the energy-depleting effects and maximize the creation of gamma rays. This, says the team, would allow the radiation from the high-power laser to be "converted into a well-collimated flash of GeV photons."
Thus far, the scenario, requiring lasers with peak powers on the order of 10 PW, has been proved out only on the computer. But the authors hope to see it verified in practice as such powerful lasers start [to] come on line with the maturing of the ELI and other projects—a development that, they maintain, "could enable a new era of experiments in photonuclear and quark-nuclear physics."
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 24 2017, @05:07PM
Don't tell the sharks!
(Score: 3, Funny) by bob_super on Tuesday October 24 2017, @05:25PM (6 children)
[scientist holds throat, chokes, falls dead on the floor]
*Inhales*
*Exhales*
What is the point of building a giant laser weapon if people can't see the destruction beam? Do you expect me to tape video claims, like a vulgar Daesh terrorist?
*Inhales*
*Exhales*
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 24 2017, @06:09PM (4 children)
You're trying too hard.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 24 2017, @06:19PM
His sin is that, in spite of trying so hard, he's not succeeding.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Tuesday October 24 2017, @06:22PM (2 children)
How about "You don't keep a doomsday beam invisible"
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 24 2017, @06:56PM (1 child)
At 10PW, any stray particles in the beam path will be converted to plasma. That should illuminate the beam nicely.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by c0lo on Tuesday October 24 2017, @08:24PM
In between hard gamma and plasma, there will be a nice energetically proton, α/β and X-ray radiation shower** cascading out - should be a spectacular view to cherish for the rest of the days of your life, as few as they may be.
--
gamma knocks out some nucleons, which interact with the surrounding matter knocking out some inner electrons, with cascading re-arrangements to produce X-ray.
Free protons, α and electrons can be further energized by the collisions with some other gamma in the beam.
If they also think of "quark-nuclear physics", I'm afraid you'll get to experience other exotic particles (and, if you are lucky, the effect of their decay inside your body) and maybe the nice blue/UV/soft-X of Cherenkov radiation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 24 2017, @09:21PM
It is amusing to see labels suddenly crop up everywhere, used by people who think their use of buzzwords translates into insight. I can't even remember the early names of terrorist orgs they change so fast. Good way to keep people unnecessarily on their toes though.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 24 2017, @07:19PM
To the completion of the DeathStar.