According to a recent AP report, engineers at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have completed the world's most powerful (and possibly expensive, at $3.5 billion and counting) laser, "capable of simulating the energy force of a hydrogen bomb and the sun itself."
The lead scientist's name wouldn't happen to be Auric Goldfinger, would it?
Unlike Herr Goldfinger's little toy, however, the new super laser is made up of 192 separate laser beams. (Because apparently the 60-beam system at the University of Rochester just wasn't butch enough.) Which makes it sound a wee bit like those old Laserium shows, without the really cool music or substance abuse.
Or a Frankie Goes to Hollywood music video.
The "super" laser's primary purpose? To boldly go where no laser has gone before. (Okay, technically, it's to help government physicists ensure the reliability of the nation's nuclear weapons as they become older. But that doesn't sound nearly as cool.)
And while I am sure the super laser mission is really cool, do scientists really need a $3.5 billion super laser? Really? I know you scientific-type guys are bummed and all since your other big toy, the Large Hadron Collider, went offline, but a super laser? Couldn't you find something else to do with all that time and $3.5 billion, like solve world hunger or fix the global financial system?
Well if you must build a super laser, you could at least let the public in at night to see it, and while you're at it, how 'bout playing some really cool music? Just sayin'.
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