To increase the size of the zone protected by the lightning rod, a powerful laser is drawn in the vicinity of the tip in order to channel the lightning.
by David Larousserie
More than twenty years that part of the team was waiting for this: channel lightning using a laser. Between July 21 and September 30, 2021, at Mont Säntis in the Swiss Alpstein, more than 2,000 meters above sea level, the feat was successful by a collaboration of the Polytechnic School, of the University of Geneva , from the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne and Arianegroup, in particular. By four times, they pulled and measured differences with 16 other thunderbolts fallen during the period, as they explain in nature Physics of January 16.
The lightning was not dispersed in several branches, but remained straight, spinning towards the tip of the 124 -meter lightning rod. Lightning also fell faster, causing more X -rays in the air. Until now, only laboratory experiences have demonstrated the domestication of lightning. The laser, manufactured by the German company Trumpf Scientific Lasers for around two million euros, is more energetic than a previously tested version and, above all, draws a hundred times more per second.
Before deploying such a system near an airport, industrial sites or military facilities, there are many improvements to make. The whole must be more compact and easier to implement than the three hours required before each session of the experience. Increasing energy will enlarge the canal which could exceed 100 meters, or even reach the kilometer. It would also be necessary to increase the conductivity of the filament to increase efficiency, but, for that, better understanding the mechanisms at work in the guidance will be necessary … New financing requests are therefore underway to withdraw on this summit struck a hundred times per year by lightning. The hope is also to manage to trigger lightning even before the first flashes, like rockets pulling metal wires towards the clouds.