A huge terawatt laser was first used as a lightning rod in the Alps

Almost 270 years ago, Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod and now lightning protection is based on the same

concepts.The technology has several disadvantages. Installing permanent lightning rods is not always possible. In addition, they only protect against direct lightning. By attracting lightning strikes to conduct current into the ground, they cause electromagnetic interference and voltage surges in devices and appliances.

To solve the problem, scientists have developed a newlightning protection technique based on a 5-ton superlaser 9 meters long. “The laser lightning rod is one of the most powerful in its class,” said engineer Clemens Herkommer, co-author of the study, in an article for the journal Photonics Media.

Herkommer has spent the last fouryears to develop a unique laser system and now a group of scientists from the University of Geneva installed it on the top of Mount Säntis at an altitude of 2500 meters. It is considered one of the hot spots in Europe. About 100 lightning strikes occur here annually, mostly from May to August.

The laser emits into the atmosphere 1000ultrashort pulses every second. In the process, it creates a long ionized channel directed towards the clouds. This laser thread will “lure” lightning, deflecting it away from vulnerable spots. “By firing a thousand laser pulses per second into clouds, we can safely discharge lightning and make the world a little safer,” Herkommer concludes.

Laser Lightning Rod Project TeamLightning Rod" will test the effectiveness of the laser on the mountain over the next few weeks. The first results will appear by the end of summer or beginning of autumn.

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