Lightning control using a laser beam. Free Technical Library News

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Controlling lightning with a laser beam

23.01.2023

Lightning is one of nature's most energetic phenomena, releasing millions of volts in a fraction of a second, which can be devastating - power outages, fires, injury and even death.

For a long time, the best way to protect yourself from lightning was considered a lightning rod - a huge metal stick attached to the tallest building. This simple design essentially draws electricity and guides it safely into the ground. However, one of the problems is that such lightning rods have a limited range - for example, a 10-meter lightning rod can only protect an area with a radius of 10 meters around it. That is, to protect a large building or airport, a giant lightning rod would actually be required. But it looks like scientists have found a way.

Physicist Aurélien Houart of the Applied Optics Laboratory at the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris and his colleagues endured hours of thunderstorm activity to test whether a laser could deflect lightning strikes away from critical infrastructure.

The researchers demonstrated the operation of a new, more efficient system - in fact, scientists have learned how to deflect lightning discharges using a powerful laser aimed at the sky.

According to study author Jean-Pierre Wolf, a laser lightning rod is a laser beam aimed at clouds during a storm - thus it paves the path of least resistance for the passage of electricity. Moreover, a laser beam can extend much further than a lightning rod, and therefore protect a large area.

The scientists explain that when high-power laser pulses are emitted into the atmosphere, filaments of very intense light are formed inside the beam. They permeate the nitrogen and oxygen molecules that are present in the air, which in turn release free electrons to move. As a result, ionized air, which is also called "plasma", becomes an electrical conductor.

To demonstrate their concept, the scientists developed a laser system with an average power of 1 kW and pulsing about a thousand times per second, releasing 1 joule of energy per pulse.

The laser system was installed on top of Zentis, which is the highest mountain in the Swiss Alps. Scientists note that the laser was installed next to the tower, which annually attracts about a hundred lightning strikes.

The researchers note that the laser was aimed at the sky near the top of the tower - the main purpose was to try to attract lightning to the beam before it reached the tower's usual lightning rod. During the testing period, scientists recorded four lightning strikes.

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