A super laser aimed at the sky can be used to deflect lightning. Researchers have now been able to demonstrate this in a new study. The laser was tested on the top of the Swiss mountain Säntis.
Such lasers could in the future protect sensitive installations such as nuclear power plants or airports against lightning strikes, the scientists write in the study published Monday in the journal “Nature Photonics”.
“We believe this experimental breakthrough will lead to advances in lightning protection and lightning physics,” the authors are confident. Until now, protection against lightning has been based on a technology invented nearly 300 years ago: a grounded metal bar. However, it only has a very limited range.
Laser can effectively target lightning
The research team experimented with the laser on the Säntis in the summer of 2021. The three-ton “Laser Lightning Rod” (LLR) was taken to the top of the mountain by helicopter. Analysis of the data has now shown that the laser can effectively target lightning.
The heart of the LLR is the laser. This creates a kind of “channel” in storm clouds, the so-called laser filament. As soon as the lightning wants to discharge itself from the cloud, this laser filament gives it no other chance than to hit the ground in a controlled manner via the specified channel.
Source: Krone
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