Re: Attracting Lightning

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Ed Phillips by way of Terry Fritz <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <evp-at-pacbell-dot-net>

Tesla list wrote:
 >
 > Original poster: "Goku Goku by way of Terry Fritz <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" 
<goku1415-at-hotmail-dot-com>
 >
 > Hi,
 >
 > I was wondering if anyone knew of Tesla's thoughts regarding the use of
 > natural lightning. Is it possible to "attract" a bolt of lightning to a
 > desired point?
 >
 > Leon

	Yes.  During the early 1940's lightning researchers at Westinghouse
used rocket-launched wires to "attract" lightning strikes in order to
measure details of the discharge currents.  One of my professors at
Caltech was part of this group and reported an amusing (at least to
some) incident when one of the rockets went off more or less
horizontally and the attached wires shorted out a bit interstate power
line.

	More recently there have been reports of using laser-ionization trails
in air for a similar purpose.  Although I've seen mention of this in the
popular press (Scientific American) I've never read a peer-reviewed
paper verifying this so it may just be anecdotal.

Ed