Powerful Lasers Could Help Steer Lightning Strikes, Help Protect Sensitive Areas
The setup essentially ionises nitrogen and oxygen molecules, releasing electrons and creating a plasma that conducts electricity. The laser fires at a blazing fast 1,000 pulses per second and it captures more lightning as it forms.
The use of lightning rods to safely guide lightning strikes into the ground has been a common approach that dates back centuries. And while they work as they should, they don¡¯t offer enough cover for a large area, due to their short range.
University of Geneva
However, researchers in Europe have tested a system that makes use of terawatt-level later pulses to steer lighting toward a 26-foot rod, reveals an Engadget report.
What¡¯s crazy is that this isn¡¯t limited by its physical height and is able to cover much wider areas, as high as 590 feet, even with clouds and fog in its way.
The setup essentially ionises nitrogen and oxygen molecules, releasing electrons and creating a plasma that conducts electricity. The laser fires at a blazing fast 1,000 pulses per second and it captures more lightning as it forms.
Based on testing, which was conducted during June and September 2021, the lightning was able to follow the bean for nearly 197 feet before it hit the rod.
University of Geneva
According to Dr Aur¨¦lien Houard, who helped lead the project, in a conversation (with the Wall Street Journal) that their laser was able to shoot 100 times more pulses per second than in previous attempts.
This however is still in very nascent stages and it could still take a long time before we see mass applications of this approach. Yet it offers an avenue that could eventually make lightning protection across large areas.
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