At a research center in Romania, part of the European Union’s Infrastructure ELI project, engineer Antonia Toma activates the world’s most powerful laser. This laser, located near the Romanian capital Bucharest, is operated by the French company Thales, using Nobel prize-winning inventions. The Nobel Physics Prize was awarded to France’s Gerard Mourou and Donna Strickland of Canada in 2018 for their work harnessing the power of lasers for advanced precision instruments. The Nobel Academy’s citation hailed the sharp beams of laser light for deepening our knowledge about the world and shaping it.
In an emotional statement, Mr. Mourou expressed his feelings about the project, describing it as an “incredible odyssey” from the U.S. where he spent 30 years to bring it to Europe. He explained how a small luminous seed with very little energy is amplified millions of times to produce this powerful laser that results in phenomenal powers and a huge step forward in laser technology. Potential applications of this powerful laser include treating nuclear waste by reducing its radioactivity or cleaning up space debris according to Mr. Mourou who envisions the 21st century as the era of lasers, similar to how last century was known as
