Lotsa Terawatts

The government has a 500 trillion watt laser and they're going to use it to blow up Jupiter!!!1

Not really. I'm just practicing my yellow journalism in case I ever need to apply for a job at the New York Times.

Here's the cool part:

Next year, Livermore teams will start work on experiments that could ultimately have an even bigger impact. They will use the lasers to ignite a fusion reaction in a ball of hydrogen isotopes. Other labs have triggered fusion, but not a self-sustaining reaction. The Livermore facility should deliver a big enough jolt of energy to trigger a reaction that burns until the fuel is used up. The data produced will feed into attempts to design a commercial fusion power plant.

Sustainable and controlled fusion is the scientific equivalent of the entire planet hitting the lottery: the chances are remote, but if it happens most of your recurring problems suddenly become trivial.

On the other hand, they might accidentally blow up the planet.

Sorry, sorry! Just practicing again.