Scientists Demonstrate Record-Breaking Laser Pulse Intensity Using Petawatt Laser Using a petawatt laser, scientists have demonstrated the highest laser pulse intensity of more than 10 23 W/cm 2. This laser intensity—which is 10 times more than the one reported by a research team from the University of Michigan in 2004—took more than 10 years to reach this record-high intensity. Researchers created high-intensity pulses using the petawatt laser (pictured) at the Center for Relativistic Laser Science (CoReLS) in the Republic of Korea. This high-intensity laser will allow scientists to examine astrophysical phenomena such as electron-photon and photon-photon scattering in the lab. Image Credit: Chang Hee Nam, CoReLS.