CLF Vulcan Laser Facility

Vulcan Laser Facility - Highlights

Decommissioning of Vulcan ahead of Vulcan 20-20
The next stage of the Vulcan 20-20 project has begun, with the facility currently being dismantled ahead of the construction phase.
Vulcan searches for maximum X-ray production from metal foils
Pushing forward the boundaries of science often starts with fundamental research. At the CLF, we often use our range of lasers to conduct experiments of this nature.
That was fast – making movies of picosecond laser plasma dynamics
Using a new approach to ultra-fast imaging, researchers at the University of Strathclyde and CLF have been able to capture snapshots of laser plasma interactions on the picosecond scale and measure the evolution of important plasma processes.
Scientists tackle the great unpredictability of turbulence using Vulcan Laser
Several decades ago, Richard Feynman called turbulent flow one of “the last unsolved problems of classical physics”. This is still the case now.
How to supercharge the ultimate X-ray machine
Record result for T-ray pulse energy obtained in a laboratory so far using Vulcan laser
Results published today in PNAS show that a laser-generated burst of T-rays (electromagnetic waves between infrared and microwaves known as terahertz emission) produces pulses containing millijoules of energy – a world record for laboratory sources.
FROM ICE TO FIRE: Nanostructured cryogenic targets form relativistic plasma accelerators
This feat involved the use of pioneering cryogenic targetry jointly developed by the A-SAIL consortium and the CLF and has been considered a world first in the field.
Space Weather in the Lab
60 years ago, the first manmade object was sent into space.
Featured in Nature Comms: Record High Energy Protons from Vulcan
A recent experiment on the CLF's own Vulcan laser to created proton energies close to 100 MeV.
Vulcan experiment provides first demonstration of moderated, epithermal neutrons from a laser accelerator source
Unlocking the mysteries of "little starlets"
A Vulcan petawatt experiment furthers our understanding of some of the most mysterious celestial objects just beyond the solar system - brown dwarfs
How we recreated the early universe in the laboratory
Vulcan supernova makes top 10 of Physics World science breakthroughs of the year
An experiment using Vulcan to create tiny versions of supernova explosions in the laboratory has been listed by Physics World as one of the top 10 science breakthroughs of the year.
CLFs Vulcan laser reveals electron transport can be tuned in melting solids
Results published in Physical Review Letters demonstrate for the first time that divergence, spatial-intensity profile and symmetry of fast electron beams can be actively manipulated by tailoring temperature and resistivity gradients within the target usi
CLFs Vulcan laser used to mimic magnetic field amplification in supernova remnants
A group led by the University of Oxford have used the Vulcan laser to explore turbulent amplification of magnetic fields in laser-produced shocks, believed to be the reason behind synchrotron emission from the remnants of the supernova Cassiopeia A.