Discovery paves way for gamma-ray annihilation lasers

By at 1:41 pm Wednesday, Sep 12

For those of you waiting on the edge of your seats for the invention of the gamma-ray annihilation laser, relax. The BBC reports that scientists in the US have successfully combined electrons with their anti-matter counterparts, positrons, to create Di-positronium, bringing the dream of gamma-ray annihilation lasers one step closer to being realized.
The discovery, reported in the journal Nature, is a key step in the creation of ultrapowerful lasers known as gamma-ray annihilation lasers.

"The difference in the power available from a gamma-ray laser compared to a normal laser is the same as the difference between a nuclear explosion and a chemical explosion," said Dr David Cassidy of the University of California, Riverside, and one of the authors of the paper.

Link (Thanks, Patrick!)

Mark Frauenfelder

My latest book, Made by Hand, now in paperback. Follow me on Twitter.

Where not otherwise specified, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution. Boing Boing is a trademark of Happy Mutants LLC in the United States and other countries.