optics - Can a nuclear bomb be used as the power source for a laser beam

My previous post "Using nuclear bombs to detect near earth orbit objects" asked about using nuclear devices to detect Earth directed asteroids and low albedo comets. Now I want to explore a method of deflecting them using lasers.

Assume we can, by (light, x or gamma rays), actually detect the incoming object on a timescale long enough to attempt to deflect it successfully.

Also assume that the NEO does not simply absorb the radation, as a comet might.

I don't need much (or anything really) in the answer by way of calculations, my question is simply:

Is it in principle possible to convert the energy of a nuclear blast, at any appreciable efficiency level, into the production of an intense laser beam?

This intense beam may then be directed at the NEO, possibly producing a deflection in it's path towards Earth.

I acknowledge that this process may be considered impossible, as placing delicate equipment near a nuclear blast is generally not recommended for the completion of any project.

But in defence of the merits of the question, two points:

As far as I remember, the base of the tower used in the Trinity device in New Mexico did not undergo as much damage as was originally expected.

The Project Orion spaceship design of the early 1960's proposed using very small nuclear devices. The calculations involved indicated that the vehicle would not be damaged by the estimated number ( in the order of hundreds) of nuclear blasts required to achieve orbit.

To sum up my question, can the radiation output of a nuclear device be used, even in principle, as the power source for a laser beam (the laser beam being tuned to whatever frequency is deemed most efficient for deflection purposes.)

Answer

Project Excalibur The idea of a nuclear pumped X-ray laser was one which was investigated in detail in the Reagan "Star Wars" program of the 1980s, backed by one Edward Teller. Tests were carried out by surrounding the nuke with bundles of rods to create a one-pass laser. Apparently it was nowhere near efficient enough to be used in a military context. [That latter fact was reported at the time but is not mentioned in the wiki article]