Press release

Guinness World Record for the most powerful handheld laser (prototype) awarded to PA Consulting’s innovation expert

17 February 2023

PA Consulting’s innovation expert, Daniel Black, has been awarded a Guinness World Records title for ‘Most Powerful Handheld Laser (prototype)’ which was achieved at PA’s Global Innovation and Technology Centre (GITC).

Daniel, who is an innovator within the Electronic Systems capability at PA produced a small, powerful laser, capable of cutting through wood, plastic and fabrics which has achieved a peak power of 7.61W - equivalent to stacking almost 8,000 conventional laser pointers on top of each other.

Lasers play a large role in modern infrastructure, communications, healthcare, and engineering and often act invisibly behind the scenes to allow huge amounts of the modern world to function. PA has consistently innovated at the forefront of this vital technology, with world leading innovators, technologists, engineers, and scientists all able to make use of PA’s world class laser labs at the GITC near Cambridge. Breaking this Guinness World Record title is another achievement for PA which demonstrates its expertise and capability with laser technology.

Lasers are ubiquitous, working behind the scenes to power our digital infrastructure. This laser has been designed and built to push the limits of what can be achieved in such a small form factor - to take the next step in making the technology smaller, lighter and more power efficient. Lasers will form an ever-larger backbone to the way we communicate, shop, bank, learn, and work, so it is important for laser technology to keep evolving, and for us to push the boundaries.”
Innovation expert
Sketch of the handheld laser (prototype) by Andy Clark
This World Record laser serves as a testbed for us to work safely with small, high-power lasers at PA - and the technological progress we have made here may allow us to make more efficient and longer lasting communications networks, to look at possible new methods of wireless power delivery, to create new smaller medical devices, or even to change the way we deliver healthcare such as through portable laser tools for surgery.”
Innovation expert
We believe in giving engineers such as Daniel the opportunity to innovate and create. PA provides a unique opportunity for people to shape their own careers and to bring their ingenuity to life. We hope that Daniel’s achievement will inspire the coming generations to become world leading scientists or engineers.”
Electronic systems expert

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