Laserati

A group of European researchers had triggered electrical activity in thunderstorms for the first time, using a terawatt femtosecond mobile laser. They did this by aiming their laser to thunderclouds. via: OSA

The intense laser pulses created plasma filaments in the atomosphere that could conduct electricity akin to Benjamin Franklin's silk kite string. No big lightning was triggered because the plasma filaments were still too short-lived.

"This was an important first step toward triggering lightning strikes with laser beams," says Jérôme Kasparian of the University of Lyon in France. "It was the first time we generated lighting precursors in a thundercloud." The next step of generating full-blown lightning strikes may come, he adds, after the team reprograms their lasers to use more sophisticated pulse sequences that will make longer-lived filaments to further conduct the lightning during storms.

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.