Laser power record
A trio of lasers, each more powerful than any in existence, is to be built in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania by 2015. The beams, which just got the go-ahead from the European Commission, will be used to accelerate particles and to study atomic nuclei and ultra-fast events inside atoms. Each laser’s pulses will pack 10 petawatts (1016 watts).
Chernobyl, 25 years on
Wildlife is thriving in lakes contaminated by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, with both overall numbers and species diversity holding up well. Any harmful effects from radiation appear to be negated by…
