"light source 10 billion times brighter than the Sun"

[Pistolero]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6991893.stm

I think it's just a fancy XRAY gun. I don't know where they get the "10 billion times brighter than the sun" part... stupid journalists.

 

[Illum]

it is possible that the device emitted a spectrum of light that the sun emits very little....

probably a "light source" outside the "visible spectrum"
sure it could be a gross exaggeration...but the possibilities at hand are close to infinite....no one will know for sure until we can see the actual device and take measurements from it.

 

[scott.cr]

I don't know where they get the "10 billion times brighter than the sun" part... stupid journalists.

You're right, that is an over-broad and sweeping statement. And saying "stupid journalists" is also right, I'll bet you that whoever wrote that article took that line straight from a press release... a press release written by one of the companies involved with the project to generate interest. It's bad research and bad journalism.

However, it is good to see this type of story in a broad-interest publication. There will always be errors in science stories, and journalists will always confuse press releases for news.

 

[TOOCOOL]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6991893.stm

I think it's just a fancy XRAY gun.

You need to do more research. Thats like saying an Atomic bomb is a fancy firework

 

[TigerhawkT3]

It may be ten billion times more lux than sunlight on Earth. They're not talking about overall output, that's for sure.

 

[stephenmadpotato]

HAHAHAHAHHA 10 billion times the sunlight to read books. Morons, it'd set the books on fire.