Fastest Waves Ever Photographed

starfoot writes, "Pictures of the fastest waves ever photographed, traveling at 99.997% of the speed of light, were presented today at the APS Division of Plasma Physics meeting in Philadelphia. The waves were formed in the wake of an intense laser pulse passing through a plasma of electrons and ionized atoms. The waves create enormous electric fields (over 100 billion electron volts/meter), which can be used to rapidly accelerate charged particles to high energies in the span of a few meters. The pictures will help scientists better understand wakefield interactions — an important factor in their quest to replace machines that accelerate particles over the course of miles with compact, tabletop versions. High energy particle accelerators are vital for cutting edge physics and many types of medical therapy, and miniaturizing them would be a boon for both basic physics research and medicine."

Yeah right

[UbuntuDupe]

I bet it was just photoshopped. Gimme ten minutes, and I can give you a wave doing 99.999% of the speed of light.

Whoa

[0racle]

Thats hot.

No...

[masdog]

They run from all operating systems.

Fast, but how fast?

[abscissa]

If you made instant coffee in the microwave, would you go back in time?

Re:fp

[i kan reed]

let me guess, you refresh slashdot at relativistic speeds.

Re:Someone care to explain the USE of an accelerat

[Anonymous Coward]

Positron Emmision Tomography. AKA a PET scan. It's like an MRI on steroids. Helps them find all sorts of broken/excess bits in that big bag o' meat called a patient. The things are really useful, really really big, and really really really expensive. Make them smaller and, well, they'll be smaller, probably still really really expensive. This is the health care industry we're talking about.

Speed Limit

[bmo]

+-----------+
| _ 5MPH__ |
| No Wake_|
+----+-----+
        |
        |
~~~~~~~~~~~~

The harbor master isn't going to like this one.

--
BMO