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Laser Triggers Electrical Activity In Thunderstorm

Posted by kdawson on from the ionized-path-between-the-clouds-part-deux dept.

esocid writes "A team of European scientists has deliberately triggered electrical activity in thunderclouds for the first time by aiming high-power pulses of laser light into a thunderstorm. At the top of South Baldy Peak in New Mexico during two passing thunderstorms, the researchers used laser pulses to create plasma filaments that could conduct electricity. No air-to-ground lightning was triggered because the filaments were too short-lived, but the laser pulses generated discharges in the thunderclouds themselves up to several meters long. Triggering lightning strikes is an important tool for basic and applied research because it enables researchers to study the mechanisms underlying lightning strikes. Moreover, triggered lightning strikes will allow engineers to evaluate and test the lightning-sensitivity of airplanes and critical infrastructure such as power lines. Research into laser-triggered lightning has been going on for some years. Until now, no experiment was able to produce a long enough plasma channel to affect the electrical activity inside clouds."

16 of 167 comments (clear)

  1. Electricity source? by billy901 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If the cost of the lasers and the energy for them didn't cost to much, it may be a possibility in the future to create energy using lightning strikes. Due to the infrequency of lightning, no one has ever made a great effort to try this. If the technology is cheap enough, this would be a great test and possibly a future energy source.

    --
    Please visit http://www.mederbil.com/ i7, GTX 275, 4 1TB Caviar Green in RAID 0+1 array, EVGA X58 3X SLI Board, Silver
    1. Re:Electricity source? by RobertM1968 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, the other issue comes from storing that much electricity delivered in such a short period of time...

      I think the problem may be the methods being used... I would think it more logical to try to drain such energy from the sky on a slower basis than to try to capture a lightning bolt...

      But then again, I am no scientist...

      --
      StarTrekPhase2 - The Five Year Mission Continues!
    2. Re:Electricity source? by MBCook · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I agree with my sibling comments that this is almost certainly infeasible. Storage would be a nightmare, trying to suddenly absorb all that energy.

      However, the first thing that came to my mind was radio. Protecting antennas (especially the large ones like AM broadcast) I'd imagine is quite tough and expensive. You are going to take hits, and you have to have everything designed to deflect as much energy as possible. You obviously don't want your millions and millions of dollars of equipment getting fried. The insurance on all this can't be cheap.

      Yet if you could use a laser to drain local clouds near your antennas... you might be able to seriously mitigate possible strikes or at least the damage they might cause.

      Heck, if you could make this really cheap (obviously difficult, especially given laser power requirements) you could protect kids sports events and such that might otherwise get cancelled.

      In the midwest, sudden and STRONG thunderstorms are quite normal during parts of the year. I could see this being useful.

      Heck, synch the pulses up to the local radio station as an advertisement. "LAZR 102.7, now protecting you from lightning. Shows start when the thunder does!"

      (be afraid of NPR pledge drive week)

      --
      Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
    3. Re:Electricity source? by NeverVotedBush · · Score: 4, Informative

      Not exactly. What the "super" in supercapacitors means is that they have extremely high capacitance and can store a large amount of charge.

      The rub is that they cannot handle much in the way of voltage. Typically in the 2 to 4 volts range depending on the type. So if you want to store a lot of voltage, you need to put them in series and that lowers the capacitance back down.

      Supercaps are not suitable for high voltage. The reason you don't see them powering electric cars instead of batteries is the voltage issue. Manufacturers and researchers are working on that but for now, the voltage a supercap can stand is very low.

    4. Re:Electricity source? by powermacx · · Score: 5, Funny

      I was hanging a clock in the bathroom while standing on the edge of the toilet when I slipped, fell and hit my head on the sink. Then I came up with this:

      ---------
      |   |   |
      |   |   |
      |  / \  |
      | /   \ |
      ---------

    5. Re:Electricity source? by photonrider · · Score: 5, Funny

      Pants?

  2. Re:Let me be the first... by mrmeval · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How cool would a "lightning bomb" be? A bit of bother dropping several thousand of them during a storm the the bewildered havoc they could wreck!

    I'm wondering if one of those microwave pseudo-EMP devices are directional enough to trigger a more massive plasma channel.

    --
    I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
  3. I can think of no possible negative consequences.. by Theatetus · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...to shooting a laser at a big storm cloud trying to generate lightning. None whatsoever.

    --
    All's true that is mistrusted
  4. Lightning rocketry by cojsl · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A research site in Florida fires rockets trailing a wire into thunderstorms to stimulate lightning strikes: http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/rocket_lightning_030130.html Video on this page: http://skydiary.com/gallery/chase2002/2002lightmovie.html

  5. Lasers again. by Bovius · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sometimes I think these discoveries aren't the result of due scientific process. Sometimes I think a bunch of researchers were sitting around a break room table and said, "Let's shoot lasers at clouds!" Shooting anything with a laser to see what happens is a noble scientific endeavor.

    1. Re:Lasers again. by hardburn · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's what I told my parents when I blinded my little brother. They didn't believe me.

      --
      Not a typewriter
  6. Re:Let me be the first... by RuBLed · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...to welcome our laser-wielding lightning commanding shark overlords!
    there fixed it for you
  7. Re:I can think of no possible negative consequence by flaming+error · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just don't cross the beams.

  8. Mwahahaha! by patternmatch · · Score: 5, Funny

    Triggering lightning strikes is an important tool for basic and applied research

    Don't forget supervilliany.

  9. Here's hoping... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 5, Funny

    A bunch of basement dwellers will rush outside with their mini laser lights to either get zapped by lightning or busted by the police for being terrorists when a plane flies overhead. Their sacrifices for science will be greatly appreciated by the community.

  10. Re:Let me be the first... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    you know, somehow i think it would be more effective just aiming the damn high-power laser at your target.. but maybe that's just me.