Scientists Guide Lightning Bolts with Lasers for the First Time
Background
Lightning strikes are a powerful and dangerous force of nature. They can cause damage to structures, disrupt infrastructure, and even threaten human life. Lightning rods, invented by Benjamin Franklin in the 18th century, have been used to protect against lightning strikes by attracting the bolts and guiding them into the ground. However, lightning rods only provide limited protection, and they are not effective for large infrastructure such as airports and launchpads.
Lasers: A New Way to Protect Against Lightning
Scientists have been exploring the use of lasers to guide lightning since the 1960s. Lasers are beams of highly concentrated light that can be used to heat and ionize air. This creates a path of lower-density air that conducts electricity and can channel lightning.
In a recent breakthrough, scientists have successfully guided lightning bolts with lasers for the first time. The experiment was conducted on the Säntis mountain in northeastern Switzerland, where a laser was fired rapidly into the sky. The laser guided lightning for about 50 meters, providing proof-of-concept for the use of lasers to protect large infrastructure from lightning strikes.
How Lasers Guide Lightning
Lasers guide lightning by creating a path of lower-density air that conducts electricity. When a laser beam is fired into the sky, it heats and ionizes the surrounding air molecules. This creates a channel of plasma, which is a gas that conducts electricity. The lightning bolt is then attracted to the plasma channel and follows it to the ground.
Advantages of Lasers over Lightning Rods
Lasers offer several advantages over traditional lightning rods. First, lasers can be used to protect a much wider area than lightning rods. A single laser beam can extend much higher than a physical rod, which means it can protect a larger area on the ground. Second, lasers can be switched on or off at any time, which allows them to be used only when needed. This is not possible with lightning rods, which are always active.
Challenges and Future Directions
While the successful guidance of lightning bolts with lasers is a major breakthrough, there are still some challenges that need to be addressed before lasers can be used for practical applications. One challenge is that the lasers need to be able to guide lightning for longer distances. Most lightning channels are kilometers long, but the current laser system can only guide lightning for about 50 meters. Another challenge is the cost of the laser system. The laser used in the experiment cost more than $2 billion and is not expected to be commercialized for at least a decade.
Despite these challenges, the successful guidance of lightning bolts with lasers is a promising development. Lasers have the potential to provide a new and more effective way to protect against lightning strikes, and they could one day be used to protect large infrastructure such as airports and launchpads.
Additional Information
- Lightning strikes can cause billions of dollars of damage each year.
- Lightning strikes killed nearly 450 people in the United States between 2006 and 2021.
- Previous experiments using lasers to guide lightning had failed, but the recent experiment used a higher pulse rate, which was key to the success.
- The laser used in the experiment was fired at about 1,000 times per second.
- The laser guided lightning to a rod on a Swiss telecommunications tower that is struck by lightning around 100 times each year.
- Scientists believe that lasers could eventually be used to protect large infrastructure from lightning strikes, but more research is needed.
