Popular Science (July 28) -- Researchers at Osaka University are claiming to have fired the most powerful laser in the world. The 2-petawatt (two quadrillion watt) pulse lasted just one picosecond (a trillionth of a second). “Two petawatts, that’s a lot,” says Julio Soares, senior research scientist at Illinois. When asked what a laser of that power could be used for, Soares responded, “Well, to blow things up.”