• Question: can we control lightning?

    Asked by mallika54321 to Mark, Matthew, Mike, Paul, Sabina on 13 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Mike Lee

      Mike Lee answered on 13 Mar 2014:


      We can build lightning conductors to take the lightning away from buildings… Lightning always chooses the easiest path to ground, and going through metal is easier than going through air. So if I build a giant metal rod, lightning will likely go for that rather than anywhere else.

      But we can not decide to have a lightning storm, the weather is more powerful than us!

    • Photo: Paul Coxon

      Paul Coxon answered on 13 Mar 2014:


      We can control lightning to some extent. Metal lightning conductors attached to tall buildings can direct the energy to Earth where it can safely disperse. Also, it’s has been found that a beam of laser light can trigger lightning and direct where it strikes.

      See here for more info (and a really nice picture) http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-03/lightning-can-strike-twice-if-you-have-some-lasers

    • Photo: Mark Jackson

      Mark Jackson answered on 14 Mar 2014:


      I hope so. I’m 193 cm and feel very nervous during lightning storms.

      It used to be that lighting was believed to be a sign that God was angry, but Benjamin Franklin and others sought a slightly more scientific explanation. In 1752 he flew a kite with a metal key tied to the string during a lightning storm, and then found that the key had acquired an electric charge. This was evidence that lightning was just a form of electricity. Based on this insight he advocated placing long sharp metalic spikes on the top of buildings so as to attract the lightning, preventing it from hitting the buildings. These “lightning rods” have become a standard piece of technology all over the world. So we can already control lightning! In fact when the Eiffel Tower of Paris was built there was a fear that it was such a large lightning rod that it might even attract lightning storms, but this was not true.

    • Photo: Matthew Malek

      Matthew Malek answered on 17 Mar 2014:


      Yes, we can control lightning… but only to a certain extent. Lightning is a giant eletrical discharge. We can use what we know about electricity to redirect it (lightning rods) or protect against it (electrical insulation).

      On the other hand, part of the beauty of lightning is that it is a display of nature being wild and untamed. When I lived in the Arizona desert, I would often see lightning storms where the bolts did not go from the sky to the ground. Instead, beautiful lightning strikes would rage across the sky, flying from cloud to cloud! Pretty spectacular!

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