Can world's largest laser zap Earth's energy woes?

cnn ^ | April 28, 2010 | John D. Sutter

[JoeProBono]

Livermore, California (CNN) -- Scientists at a government lab here are trying to use the world's largest laser -- it's the size of three football fields -- to set off a nuclear reaction so intense that it will make a star bloom on the surface of the Earth.

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's formula for cooking up a sun on the ground may sound like it's stolen from the plot of an "Austin Powers" movie. But it's no Hollywood fantasy: The ambitious experiment will be tried for real, and for the first time, late this summer.

If they're successful, the scientists hope to solve the global energy crisis by harnessing the energy generated by the mini-star.

[Brett66]

I'm doubtful this is a path that will ever lead to practical fusion power, I think focus fusion can achieve that goal.

Focus Fusion