• Question: what is the coolest thing you know about lasers ?

    Asked by lewis-is-beast to Ian on 19 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Ian Sandal

      Ian Sandal answered on 19 Mar 2015:

      I think it’s more hot than cool.

      Did you know that by focusing all the light emitted from a laser into a tiny spot, all the energy causes it to become very hot. By focusing the light to a spot with a size a thousandth of a millimetre scientists have created the hottest temperatures ever recorded on the Earth.

      Scientists are hoping to use this fact to create hot spots which can be used to ignite a nuclear fusion reaction, like in the sun. This will allow them to create an infinite amount of clean and safe energy.