Russian scientists have proposed a novel way to accelerate a spaceship while in flight – firing a ground-based laser up its backside. The new technique uses a plasma flow caused by laser ...

An artist’s conception shows a Magbeam station emitting a plasma beam to propel a target ... Is there a better way to power a spaceship? The basic tools of the rocket trade have been refined ...

The breakthrough represents a significant advancement in laser-plasma acceleration, a promising technique for creating small, high-energy particle accelerators with potential uses in materials ...

Laser plasma acceleration is a potentially disruptive technology: It could be used to build far more compact accelerators and open up new use cases in fundamental research, industry and health.

Military researchers are today working on a way to defend soldiers with ultra-quick laser pulses and mid-air plasma bursts. But similar technology may have been floating around the Defense ...

DESY's new flagship laser, KALDERA, has now made a decisive step forward: Driving the compact plasma accelerator MAGMA, the innovative laser has been shown to accelerate 100 particle bunches per ...

This builds on many years of laser-plasma research and offers a game-changing method of protecting aircraft from heat-seeking missiles. It may also provide a clue about the source of some recent ...