Controlling lightning with lasers

Laboratoire d’Optique Appliquée, ENSTA, École polytechnique, CNRS, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Palaiseau, France

^* aurelien.houard@polytechnique.edu

Résumé

Lightning is one of nature's most extreme phenomena. As fascinating as it is destructive, it causes billions of euros worth of damage every year. The idea of using lasers to control lightning dates back to the 1970s, but it wasn't until 50 years later, with the European Laser Lightning Rod project, that it was demonstrated for the first time that powerful lasers could guide lightning over long distances.