Re: Attracting Lightning

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

Original poster: "Jim Lux by way of Terry Fritz <teslalist-at-qwest-dot-net>" <jimlux-at-earthlink-dot-net>

At 11:45 AM 6/20/2003 -0600, you wrote:
>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

At University of Florida, Gainesville, they use rocket/wire triggering for 
lightning. I believe this also being done at the Langmuir lab in New 
Mexico.  As far as the laser triggered (or directed) lightning, that work 
is being done in Japan. (S. Uchida, et. al., "Laser-triggered lighting in 
field experiments," J. Opt. Tech., 66(3), p. 199-202, 1999, is one 
reference). The Russians have also been doing stuff in this area:Rambo, P; 
Biegert, J; Kubecek, V; Schwarz, J; Bernstein, A; Diels, J-C; Bernstein, R; 
Stahlkop, K. "CONTROLLING LIGHTNING DISCHARGE WITH LASER RADIATION - 
Laboratory tests of laser-induced lightning discharge". Journal of Optical 
Technology . Volume 66, Number 3 (March 1999) pp. 194-198 (Originally 
published in Optiko-Mekhanicheskaya Promyshlennost. vol.66, no.3 (March 
1999), p.30-5).

Gosh, there was even a First International Workshop on Laser Lightning 
Protection in 1998.. Who knows what was presented there, and the level of 
repeatability, peer review, etc.  Workshops and conferences vary widely in 
their "rigor".