In the heart of a research center in Romania, part of the European Union’s Infrastructure ELI project, engineer Antonia Toma activates a machine that is nothing short of remarkable. This laser, located near the bustling capital city of Bucharest, is operated by the French company Thales and harnesses the power of Nobel prize-winning inventions.
In 2018, France’s Gerard Mourou and Donna Strickland of Canada were awarded the Nobel Physics Prize for their work on lasers. The Nobel Academy praised their sharp beams of laser light for deepening our understanding of the world and shaping it. Mr. Mourou, who spent 30 years bringing this project from the U.S to Europe, expressed his emotions about it, describing it as an “incredible odyssey.”
The process begins with a small luminous seed that has very little energy, which is then amplified millions of times to produce phenomenal powers. This is a huge step forward in laser technology. Potential applications for this powerful laser include treating nuclear waste by reducing its radioactivity or cleaning up space debris. Mr. Mourou envisions the 21st century as the era of the laser, much like how the last century was defined by the electron.
