You may not know that not every lightning strike that hits the ground is directed towards a lightning rod.
Lightning rods are currently protecting buildings by creating a low-resistance electrical pathway for lightning to travel from the clouds to the ground.
However, there remains a significant distance between lightning rods and clouds—and there is no guarantee that lightning will strike the lightning rod instead of other high points.
In the past, attempts have been made to create a pathway by launching small rockets that would carry conductive cables into the clouds—but this method has proven difficult to implement in practice due to its high costs.
Recently, a group of European researchers decided to direct lightning towards the lightning rod on the large telecommunications tower Säntis, which is struck by lightning approximately 100 times a year in Switzerland. Their secret involves using lasers to create a “path.”
Scientists are researching the use of lasers to guide lightning. (Image: Arstechnica.com).
The idea of using lasers to guide lightning is not new; it has appeared in scientific literature since the 1970s.
A high-intensity laser beam will affect the air it passes through—specifically, the light-absorbing molecules will heat up and be pushed outward, creating a low-pressure area.
Importantly, many of the molecules in this low-pressure area become charged, forming a pathway for the lightning.
The researchers used a laser with a frequency of 1 kilohertz, and after more than 6 hours of testing, lightning struck the “path” towards the lightning rod four times.
While the experiment did not conclude that all lightning could be directed to the lightning rod, the research could, in the long term, lead to ways to ensure the safety of critical structures.
