Scientists have proposed to control lightning with a laser

Lightning is one of the most terrible natural phenomena occurring on our planet 50 times per second. Electricity discharges hotter than the surface of the Sun, hitting the earth without warning. And if lightning is not so terrible for trees, then for people and buildings they pose a serious threat. That is why scientists from the Universities of Arizona and Florida decided to try to redirect lightning using lasers.
Experiments on the effects of lasers on weather have been conducted before. It was even possible to control lightning in the laboratory. However, one of the main problems remained the inability of lasers to travel long distances through the air - where lightning originates. High-intensity lasers lose their energy very quickly.

The researchers were able to solve this problem with the help of new technology. Instead of a single laser beam, they used two beams: one wrapped around the other. If the first beam was a flash for only a billionth of a second, the second beam had a long and constant spectrum. Thus, the external laser fed the internal energy. This led to the creation of a very fast and powerful laser beam that does not fade over long distances. So far, in the laboratory, it has been possible to create double laser beams only a few meters long. Long-range field trials are still ahead.

According to scientists, this technology can be used to control lightning. Laser rays soaring up to the very base of the lightning will generate ionized molecules that will become the path for lightning to land. So, any lightning can be sent to a safe place for people and buildings. In theory, everything sounds good, but researchers still have a lot of work to do to turn it into a reality.

Source: techcult.ru