The LOA opened its doors for the Fête de la Science 2025

Once again this year, the LOA welcomed the public for laboratory tours as part of the “Fête de la Science” at École Polytechnique.

Our researchers guided visitors through the LAPLACE-Haute Cadence facility, offering a glimpse into the world of ultra-high intensity lasers. The tour included a peek into the clean room housing the laser and a descent into the radiation protection tank, where we observed the laser-plasma interaction vacuum chamber.

During the visit, we explained how electrons ‘surf’ on a plasma wave, allowing ultra-short electron bunches to be accelerated to nearly the speed of light. We also illustrated a concrete and promising application: the radiobiology experiments conducted by the APPLI group, which exploit these laser-plasma accelerators for potential medical advances.

We greatly appreciated the personal exchanges with our visitors, young and old, who showed great curiosity about the future of laser-plasma technology!