Compact Laser Plasma Accelerator Breaks Proton Energy Record

Scientists Achieve New Energy Record for Next-Generation Proton Accelerators
The Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has made a significant advance in laser plasma acceleration. By employing an innovative method, a research team managed to substantially exceed the previous record for proton acceleration. For the first time, they achieved energies that so far have only seemed possible at much larger facilities. As the research group reported in the journal Nature Physics, promising applications in medicine and materials science have now become much likelier.