Scientists use laser beam to guide lightning for the first time

Scientists hope the ability to guide lightning will help protect against deadly bolts – and one day maybe trigger them.

A lightning bolt strikes near Stockton in NSW.

Scientists say they have used a laser beam to guide lightning for the first time, hoping the technique will help protect against deadly bolts – and one day maybe even trigger them.

Lightning strikes between 40-120 times a second worldwide, killing more than 4000 people and causing billions of dollars worth of damage every year.

Yet the main protection against these bolts from above is still the humble lightning rod, which was first conceived by American polymath Benjamin Franklin in 1749.

A team of scientists from six research institutions have been working for years to use the same idea but replace the simple metal pole with a far more sophisticated and precise laser. Now, in a study published in Nature Photonics, they describe using a laser beam – shot from the top of a Swiss mountain – to guide a lightning bolt for more than 50m.

Lead author Aurelien Houard said: “We wanted to give the first demonstration that the laser can have an influence on lightning – and it is simplest to guide it.”

AFP