Phys.org October 3, 2018
Researchers in Russia have developed a laser for a lunar locator capable of measuring the distance to the moon with a margin of error of a few millimeters. The laser has a relatively small size, low radiation divergence and a unique combination of short pulse duration, high pulse energy and high pulse repetition rate and the laser pulse duration is 64 picoseconds, which is almost 16 billion times less than one second. The laser’s beam divergence, which determines radiation brightness at large distances, is close to the theoretical limit. The new laser will be used in a lunar laser locator of the GLONASS navigation system making the Russian navigational system more accurate. The margin of error when locating users may be reduced to 10 cm…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Functioning of a new laser. Credit: ITMO University