Brit boffins are to build the world's most powerful laser - capable of producing a beam a million, billion, billion times brighter than the Sun.
It is hoped the £85million Vulcan 20-20 laser, which will be constructed in Oxfordshire, will speed up advances in nuclear fusion, renewable energy and batteries.
A single laser pulse from the machine, lasting a trillionth of a second, will deliver more power than the entire National Grid.
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It will be 20 times more powerful than the current most powerful laser the Vulcan which is used to study plasma physics.
Construction of the new device will take six years.
Scientists hope it will provide a better understanding of astrophysical phenomena such as supernovas and solar flares.
Experts say it could also be harnessed to study a new particle acceleration method for radiotherapy treatments for cancer.
Science minister George Freeman said: "Reestablishing Britain as home to the world's most powerful laser is an exciting opportunity to explore the unexplored in astronomy and physics.''
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