As time goes on and technological progress marches forward, the line between science fiction and reality seems to get increasingly blurry. Case in point? Lasers. They’ve been around for decades, but nowadays they’re starting to look a lot less like the puny little laser pointers of yesteryear and a lot more like the stuff you see in Star Trek. To give you a taste of how far lasers have come, we’ve compiled a list of the most advanced ones on the planet. From lice-zapping lights to high-powered military weapons, here’s our list of planet Earth’s most powerful lasers. Enjoy!

As of September 1, 2017, the world’s most powerful image-producing X-ray laser is open for business. Europe’s XFEL, as it’s called, is located 125 feet below the northern city of Hamburg, Germany. The laser is housed in a 3.4 kilometer long tunnel, where it is used to observe chemical reactions at the smallest scale, and record them.

Being able to image things at such a small scale has very big implications — whether it be observing materials as they break down to make them stronger; watching bio-molecules to help understand illnesses and create custom drugs to combat them; or using a laser to create intense pressure and heat to help understand processes like those that occur in the Earth’s core.