In the United States launched a powerful laser system ZEUS. This was reported by the press service of the University of Michigan, where the laser was created.

The name of the installation stands for "Laser system with ultrashort pulses with a power equivalent to zettawatt". Zetawatt is not the power of the laser study itself: it is assumed that the targets for the beam will be accelerated beams of electrons, which, under the influence of light, will be accelerated and acquire an energy of several zettawatts (1021). This is necessary for research in the field of high energy physics, the study of the properties of elementary and subatomic particles. For example, using ZEUS it will be possible to simulate hot plasma around magnetars, astronomical objects with a very high density, as well as active galactic nuclei.

The 3 petawatt (1015) laser itself, although it is the most powerful in the United States, is not a record one on a global scale, since China tested a 13 petawatt SULF installation in 2020. At the moment, ZEUS is working in test mode with a capacity of only 30 terawatts. The developers promise that the system will be available to researchers not only at the national level, but also at the global level.

In addition to fundamental physical research, the installation can be of applied importance. Soft tissue radiography requires high radiation power, which is harmful to health due to the high total absorbed dose. The electrons accelerated by the installation emit powerful X-rays, but within a few billionths of a second. Thus, with the help of such an X-ray source, it will be possible to obtain high-quality images with a small total dose of radiation absorbed by the object. One of the developers of the installation says that with the help of the ZEUS predecessor, he was able to image the dragonfly in great detail, including the hairs on the paws.

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