At U-M, Gérard Mourou advanced and commercialized ‘chirped pulse amplification,’ leading to more precise LASIK eye surgery and pushing the limits of optical science.(more…)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Under just the right conditions — which involve an ultra-high-intensity laser beam and a two-mile-long particle accelerator — it could be possible to create something out of nothing, according to University of Michigan researchers.
The scientists and engineers have developed new equations that show how a high-energy electron beam combined with an intense laser pulse could rip apart a vacuum into its fundamental matter and antimatter components, and set off a cascade of events that generates additional pairs of particles and antiparticles. (more…)