Lightning Bolt Controller: Scientists From Switzerland Use Million-Dollar Laser Technology to Keep Sensitive Infrastructure Safe

Lightning bolts are dangerous, and scientists from Switzerland devised a new tool to steer lightning. However, the latest technology uses a laser, making the new competitor of the tried-and-tested lightning rod very expensive.

New Lighting Controller With Laser Technology

A new study uses lasers to protect sensitive infrastructure from lighting bolts, including airports, rocket launchpads, and other facilities. However, it remains unclear if the million-dollar technology is better than the cheap lightning rod, Science.org reported.

Aurélien Houard, a physicist at the école Polytechnique, and Jean-Pierre Wolf, a physicist at the University of Geneva, devised a new tool to control lightning bolts. They placed a femtosecond laser atop Säntis mountain in northeastern Switzerland next to a 124-meter-tall telecommunications tower, which is hit with lightning more than 100 times a year.

The tool is similar to a giant lightning rod. The researchers shined their laser past the top of the tower from July to September 2021 during a 6-hour thunderstorm.

The tower got hit at least 15 times, including four times when the laser system ran. According to the scientists, the lightning struck with radio antennas flanking the mountain, tracing the lightning path, and with high-speed cameras.

In all four lightning strikes with the laser on, the lightning followed the path of the laser beam before jumping to the tower. They succeeded partly because the laser fired 1000 times per second rather than 10 or fewer. The laser's rapid-fire pulses provided it with a stable conductive channel open.

Also, the team chose a particular location where the lightning always hit the same point.

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Is It Better Than the Cheap Lightning Rod?

The $2 million laser is too expensive compared to the dirt-cheap lightning rod. However, in some cases, it could work better.

According to Houard, a lightning rod can only protect an area roughly twice as wide as the rod is tall. But the "virtual lightning rod" using laser technology could cover a bigger area. Stelios Tzortzakis, a physicist at the University of Crete, agreed with Houard, adding that the goal of the new technology is not to replace the metal lightning rod but extend its range of coverage.

Houard said they are discussing building a system to protect Ariane rockets on the launch pad at Europe's spaceport in French Guiana.

The team reports in Nature Photonics Monday.

What Are Lightning Conductors?

A metal rod is designed to protect a building from a lightning strike. Lightning occurs due to the cloud's buildup of positive and negative charges. When they meet, there is a spark or lightning, according to Axis.

Lightning is a threat to tall buildings. It can increase the heat in the materials and cause a fire. That is why lighting conductors are created to keep buildings safe from lightning bolts.

A metal rod placed on top of a building to protect the property from lightning is called a lightning conductor. The first part of the building is when the lightning will hit, preventing fire or electrocution.

American polymath Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod in 1952. The rod creates a strong electric field that draws the lightning away from the building, and the wire safely ushers the current directly to the ground for safety.