WASHINGTON: When Benjamin Franklin fashioned the first lightning rod in the 1750s following his famous experiment flying a kite with a key attached during a thunderstorm, the American inventor had no way of knowing this would remain the state of the art for centuries.
Scientists now are moving to improve on that 18th century innovation with 21st century technology - a system employing a high-powered laser that may revolutionize lightning protection.
Researchers said on Monday they succeeded in using a laser aimed at the sky from atop Mount Santis in northeastern Switzerland to divert lightning strikes.
With further development, this Laser Lightning Rod could safeguard critical infrastructure including power stations, airports, wind farms and launchpads. Lightning inflicts billions of dollars in damage on buildings, communication systems, power lines and electrical equipment annually while also killing thousands of people.
The equipment was hauled to the mountaintop at an altitude of about 8,200 feet (2,500 meters), some parts using a gondola and others by helicopter, and was focused on the sky above a 400-foot-tall (124-meter-tall) transmission tower belonging to telecommunications provider Swisscom, one of Europe's structures most affected by lightning.
In experiments during two months in 2021, intense laser pulses - 1,000 times per second - were emitted to redirect lightning strikes. All four strikes while the system was active were successfully intercepted.
In the first instance, the researchers used two high-speed cameras to record the redirection of the lightning's path by more than 160 feet (50 meters). Three others were documented with different data.
"We demonstrate for the first time that a laser can be used to guide natural lightning," said physicist Aurelien Houard of Ecole Polytechnique's Laboratory of Applied Optics in France, coordinator of the Laser Lightning Rod project and lead author of the research published in the journal Nature Photonics.
Lightning is a high-voltage electrical discharge between a cloud and the ground, within a cloud or between clouds.
"An intense laser can generate on its path long columns of plasmas in the atmosphere with electrons, ions and hot air molecules," Houard said, referring to positively charged particles called ions and negatively charged particles called electrons.
"We have shown here that these plasma columns can act as a guide for lightning," Houard added. "It is important because it is the first step toward a laser-based lightning protection that could virtually reach a height of hundreds of meters (yards) or a kilometer (0.6 mile) with sufficient laser energy."
The laser device is the size of a large car and weighs more than 3 tons. It uses lasers from German industrial machine manufacturing company Trumpf Group. With University of Geneva scientists also playing a key role, the experiments were conducted in collaboration with aerospace company ArianeGroup, a European joint venture between Airbus and Safran.
This concept, first proposed in the 1970s, has worked in laboratory conditions, but until now not in the field.
Lightning rods, dating back to Franklin's time, are metal rods atop buildings, connected to the ground with a wire, that conduct electric charges lightning strikes harmlessly into the ground. Their limitations include protecting only a small area.
Houard anticipated that 10 to 15 years more work would be needed before the Laser Lightning Rod can enter common use. One concern is avoiding interference with airplanes in flight. In fact, air traffic in the area was halted when the researchers used the laser.
"Indeed, there is a potential issue using the system with air traffic in the area because the laser could harm the eyes of the pilot if he crosses the laser beam and looks down," Houard said.
Reuters
Tue Jan 17 2023
The Laser Lightning Rod, an experimental lighting protection device that diverts the path of lightning bolts using a high-power laser, is seen in action at the top of Mount Santis in Switzerland. - REUTERS
Bing kini digunakan lebih 140 juta pengguna setiap hari
Selain Bing, aplikasi Copilot untuk iOS dan Android juga memperlihatkan peningkatan kadar muat turun dari hari ke hari.
Rebel: Tak adil kalau tak tengok, dengar komen orang dari luar saja - Awie
Awie memberitahu kisah perjuangan berkaitan kumpulan pertubuhan yang cuba diketengahkan itu sudah lama ada di dalam masyarakat, cuma tidak diketahui saja pergerakannya.
Nahas helikopter: Kementerian pertahanan, ATM aktifkan Tabung Tragedi Lumut 24
Kementerian Pertahanan dan Angkatan Tentera Malaysia menubuhkan tabung khas 'Tabung Tragedi Lumut 24' bagi orang ramai menghulurkan bantuan kewangan.
Blok Negara Islam Sedang ‘Stress’? Langsung Dialog 4 Menteri Luar – Arab Saudi, Turkiye, Jordan dan Mesir
Situasi meruncing di Gaza, konflik Iran-Israel dan ditambah pula persaingan kuat dua kuasa, Amerika Syarikat dan China dilihat terus membayangi percaturan geopolitik dan geoekonomi negara-negara Islam di Asia Barat. Menteri Luar Turkiye dan Arab Saudi antara yang tampil duduk sepentas
membincangkan apa lagi yang bakal jadi nanti.
#SpecialMeeting24
membincangkan apa lagi yang bakal jadi nanti.
#SpecialMeeting24
Tiada bukti kaitkan guru dengan kes pedofilia di MRSM Tumpat - Polis
Tiada bukti dapat dikaitkan dengan seorang guru berhubung dakwaan berlaku kes pedofilia di Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) Tumpat.
Polis tahan pasangan kekasih, rampas pistol dan dadah bernilai RM4.73 juta
Polis menahan sepasang kekasih dipercayai terlibat kegiatan pengedaran dadah di sekitar Lembah Klang dan merampas pelbagai jenis dadah bernilai RM4.73 juta dalam serbuan di sebuah kondominium di Pucho
Suami kongsi gambar nikah, netizen beri kata-kata semangat buat Irma Hasmie
Perkongsian Redza menimbulkan respons yang pelbagai dalam kalangan netizen. Beberapa peminat turut dilihat memberikan kata-kata semangat kepada Irma.
Kotak hitam helikopter mendarat cemas di Pulau Angsa dihantar ke Itali
Kotak hitam helikopter AW139 milik Maritim Malaysia yang melakukan pendaratan cemas di sekitar perairan Pulau Angsa, Kuala Selangor telah dihantar ke Itali.
Leftenan Muda Min Youn satu-satunya penuntut bangsa Cina tamat latihan Komando
Leftenan Muda Chan Ming Youn dari Batalion Kedua Rejimen Renjer Diraja menjadi satu-satunya penuntut berbangsa cina yang berjaya menamatkan Kursus Asas Komando Gerup Gerak Khas (GGK) baru-baru ini.
Kawalan sempadan dipertingkat di sempadan Malaysia-Thailand
Polis Kelantan memantau perkembangan kejadian letupan dan insiden tembak menembak di Sungai Golok awal pagi Isnin dengan meningkatkan kawalan keselamatan di sempadan negara.