New lasers could generate clean energy as strong as the Sun, heating materials to 10 million degrees

Lasers could soon heat materials to 10 million degrees in only 20 quadrillionths of a second through a new mechanism developed by theoretical physicists at the Imperial College London. New research shows that materials would potentially be hotter than the centre of the Sun using the new method, which could be used to provide clean energy on Earth similar to the yellow star.

For many years, scientists have been using high-powered lasers in an attempt to replicate the ability of the Sun to produce clean energy through thermonuclear fusion energy. Scientists say that the new method, proposed for the first time, would boost the research for fusion energy.

In the new method, researchers learned that they can heat ions directly by firing a high-intensity laser at a certain type of material that would create an electrostatic shockwave.

“It’s a completely unexpected result. One of the problems with fusion research has been getting the energy from the laser in the right place at the right time,” Dr Arthur Turrell, lead author of the study, said in a press release. “This method puts energy straight into the ions.”

Electrostatic shockwaves from lasers commonly push ions ahead of the device, which leads the material to accelerate away from the shockwave without an increase in temperature or heat.

However, supercomputer modelling led the team to discover that special combinations of ions would allow the shockwave to accelerate a material at different speeds, rapidly causing heat. The effect works stronger in solid materials with two ion types such as plastics, researchers said.

“The two types of ions act like matches and a box; you need both,” said Dr Mark Sherlock, co-author from the Department of Physics. “A bunch of matches will never light on their own - you need the friction caused by striking them against the box.”

In materials that contain only one ion type, the effect of the heat completely disappears, according to Professor Steven Rose, co-author of the study. The research was published in the journal Nature Communications.

If proven experimentally, the new method could be considered as the fastest heating rate demonstrated in a lab for a number of particles.

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