Russia is preparing to build the world's most powerful laser station, according to the news agency RIA Novosti.
Called UFL-2M, it will cost $1.5bn (£940m) to build, and will be used for military and scientific purposes.
In particular, it will be used in the research of laser thermonuclear fusion, which scientists believe will be the backbone of energy production in the future.Rady Ilkayev, scientific director of the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre – the All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics, said the design power of the laser was 2.8 mega-joules, higher than the similar facility in the US and one being built in France.
The Sarov Federal Nuclear Centre in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region may be chosen as the site for the 10-storey laser station.
