They invent a laser lightning rod that sends lightning back into the sky.

It has been calculated that the probability of being struck by lightning is 1 in 3 millionalthough there are factors that may make some people more susceptible. In fact, there was a man who was struck by 7 lightning strikes in his entire life, and he still survived. But this is not the only problem. Lightning strikes can also damage electrical systemscause Forest fires or provoke burglary at sites with hazardous contentsuch as nuclear power plants. For all this, ways must be found to stop them. At present, the only option is to use lightning rod, which provide them with a preferred place to fall and land. Now, however, an international team of scientists has developed a new way of deflecting beams with a laser.

They all founded the LLR (laser Lightning Rod in English) project, consisting of the development new lightning stop machinevery different from what he invented in his time Benjamin Franklin. In this case, they use laser beams to create an ionized channel through which the beams pass into the atmosphere.

During the first tests outside the laboratory, it was possible to reflect four lightning discharges at a distance 50 meters. The goal is to deflect even more rays and lengthen the distance until One kilometer. So far, they have shown that they are on the right track and that this could be a very useful device in the future.

Why is it important to reflect lightning?

According to satellite data, from 40 to 120 lightning strikes the earth every second. Of course, not everyone does damage. However, in many cases they can cause serious material and personal damage. And the fact is that although a person with a record of lightning discharges in his own body lived to tell about it, it is believed that 6,000 to 24,000 people die each year who are less fortunate than him.

On the other hand, according to a NASA study, the percentage of wildfires caused by lightning has increased between 2% and 5% since 1975. This is due to the fact that during this time there was an increase changeable weather from thunderstorms. In addition, pollution also plays an important role here. In fact, it was shown in 2021 that during the COVID-19 lockdown, the frequency of lightning decreased precisely because aerosol polluting particles act as small scaffolds to generate electrical activity.

For this and other reasons mentioned above, it is necessary look for ways to stop or deflect lightning. So far, we only have a lightning rod, although some interesting experiments have been carried out. However, few have made it this far.

Laser to replace conventional lightning rod

The task of the LLR project is to get a kind of lightning rod that works completely contrary to the usual ones. While Benjamin Franklin’s invention attracts lightning and directs it to Earth so it doesn’t go where it shouldn’t, this new invention doesn’t direct it downward, but instead it deflects them upward.

For this, draw the path they must pass through laser emitters capable of firing up to a thousand pulses per second. This path is an ionized channel formed by accumulation of electrically charged oxygen moleculescapable of attracting and directing lightning.

Martin Stallberg

This is something that has already been tested in the laboratory, but has not yet been applied directly in the field. The experiments were carried out in Mount Santis, in the northeast of Switzerland, next to a 123 meter high telecommunications antenna. This is a good place to experiment with a laser lightning rod, as these types of antennas tend to attract a lot of lightning. Thus, they could see that four discharges hit this device, the size of a large family car, and were vented to the atmosphere, as planned.

It took 300 years to find an alternative to Benjamin Franklin’s lightning rod. And the fact is that this invention, which began as a simple experiment with a kite and a key, turned out to be so useful that, no matter how much time passed, it hard to replace. But perhaps the time has come not to replace him, but to bring in reinforcements. Now that we live in the era of laser beams, they seem like the perfect allies.