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A team of British and Czech scientists had successfully tested a "super laser", which they claim is 10 times more powerful than any other of its kind on the planet. The so-called "high peak power laser" has a 1,000-watt average power output, a benchmark of sustained, high-energy pulses. It has revolutionary potential in engineering, for hardening metal surfaces, processing semiconductors and micro-machining material.

The device was developed by Britain's Central Laser Facility (CLF) and HiLASE (High average power pulsed laser), a Czech state research and development project. Named "Bivoj" after a mythical Czech strongman, the laser is "10 times as powerful" as any other of its type currently in use.

HiLASE director Tomas Mocek told media that Bivoj broke the "magical barrier" of 1,000 watts in output on December 16, setting a world record for lasers of its type. Weighing in at around 20 tonnes and costing 44 million euros ($48 million), Bivoj will have applications in the aeronautics, automotive and power sectors, according to the CLF and HiLASE specialists.

Bivoj was fundamentally different from so-called peak power lasers.

There are two behemoths of this kind - the one-petawatt Texas Petawatt Laser in Austin and the two-petawatt Laser for Fast Ignition Experiments (LFEX) in Osaka, Japan. One petawatt equals one million billion watts. These lasers have a very high peak power, but they can only reach it several times a day. They do not have so-called 'average power'.

Bivoj is a combination of the repetition rate and the energy. This laser has the highest average power, which is important. The repetition rate in Osaka and Austin is significantly lower. Scientists hope to explore the laser's potential during tests planned at the Dolni Brezany facility later this month. There are also plans to commercialise the laser in the second half of the year.