The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has awarded £85 million (roughly $103 million) to the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Central Laser Facility (CLF) to build what will become the world's most powerful laser. The investment will support a major upgrade to the CLF, including the centerpiece "Vulcan 20-20 laser."
Laser for plasma
The CLF, located at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in South Oxfordshire, currently employs a variety of lasers to produce plasma, the fourth state of matter, alongside solid, liquid, and gas. Typically, plasma is created by exposing matter to extreme conditions, such as high temperatures or pressures.
Studying the behavior of particles in plasma, the UKRI explains, provides valuable insights into the fundamental properties of matter and its applications in essential products like batteries. The CLF's existing "Vulcan" laser is used for various uses, mainly in plasma physics. However, the planned "Vulcan 20-20" laser's upgrade will be 100 times brighter than the existing "Vulcan" and a million billion billion times brighter than the brightest sunlight in the Sahara Desert.
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"'Vulcan' has been the flagship laser at CLF for many years and is widely recognized internationally as a pioneering facility. Over the past 40 years, it has made important contributions to plasma physics research, and hundreds of PhD students have been trained at the facility. It is timely for 'Vulcan' to undergo its next major upgrade, making it ready to serve a new comer of scientists, ensuring the UK retains its leadership role in this field," explained Prof. John Collier, Director of CLF.
"The Central Laser Facility has been a driving force behind discoveries that have advanced our understanding
of diverse areas from the fundamental properties of matter under extreme conditions to the formation of stars and planets," said Professor Mark Thomson, Executive Chair of STFC and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Champion for Infrastructure. "To keep this world-leading facility at the forefront of science and to make breakthroughs for the benefit of society, it is essential that we invest in the development and deployment of advanced high-power laser technology," he added.
The "Vulcan 20-20" program, the UKRI explains, will keep the CLF at the cutting edge of the highest-power laser science and enable new experiments in crucial areas such as renewable energy research. Its name derives from its ability to produce a primary laser beam that delivers an energy output of 20 Petawatts (PW) and eight high-energy beams producing up to 20 Kilojoules (KJ). This represents a twenty-fold increase in power, making it the anticipated frontrunner for the world's most powerful laser title.
The "Vulcan 20-20" upgrade program will take six years and create new positions for scientists, engineers, designers, and technicians at various stages of their careers. The new laser will enable researchers to better understand a variety of scientific fields, including astrophysical phenomena such as supernovae and solar flares, and the potential of laser fusion as a clean energy source.
Planned experiments include creating matter-antimatter pairs using strong electromagnetic fields typically only found in space. A new particle acceleration method will also be studied for potential ion radiotherapy treatments to treat cancer.
Boosting UK science
"Reestablishing Britain as home to the world’s most powerful laser is an exciting opportunity to explore the unexplored in astronomy and physics, stride towards new clean energy sources for the good of our planet, and much more," said George Freeman, the UK's Science Minister.
"By investing £85m to give our research community the edge in leading crucial scientific discoveries, we are also delivering hundreds of highly skilled jobs in science and engineering that boost the UK science sector and grow our economy," he added.