£100m laser project will mimic nuclear explosion

Posted on: Jan. 22nd, 2006 || Source: guardian.co.uk | E-mail Article | Print Article

On the site of an old runway in the Berkshire countryside, builders are preparing the ground for an extraordinary scientific facility that will create states of matter found nowhere else on Earth.

Known as Orion, the £100m project is the closest Britain gets to extreme engineering. The world's most powerful laser will be capable of recreating for a fraction of a second the conditions found at the heart of a thermonuclear explosion.

At the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Aldermaston, Britain's nuclear warhead factory and intended home to Orion, the laser is seen as a vital investment. It will allow weapons scientists to fine tune the complex computer models used to simulate nuclear explosions. The other hope is that, in an era where live tests are banned, a world-class piece of shiny new kit will stop Britain's bright young scientists losing interest and drifting into other jobs, leading to a future where the country's expertise is confined to those who remember the cold war.

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