World's most powerful laser is what Dr. Evil wants for Christmas

Just how strong is the world's most powerful laser on earth? Powerful enough to light a match with ease? Try 500 trillion matches.

The BBC took a trip to the National Ignition Facility in California and had a look at the new laser record holder — a combination of 192 of the world's most powerful lasers. Hailed as "the laser to end all lasers," the laser has 500 trillion watts of energy.

Capable of striking at the same time (at once billionth of a second), the laser can generate up to 500 times more energy than the entire American national grid.

Thanks to nuclear fusion — a reaction that combines the nuclei of atoms and results in the release of huge amounts of energy, the laser would probably make for a very awesome doomsday present. Dr. Evil and Darth Vader would be giddy as a school girl if they found this under their Christmas tree.