Laser Triggered Lightning

[Mike Krzywonski]

A recent article describes an experiment where lightning is triggered by a laser.
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/research/2008-04-23-laser-lightning_N.htm

 

[Robert Edmonds]

At UNM they work on this too, perhaps with NM Tech. I believe they use femtosecond lasers. UNM was able to trigger "lightning" in a lab setting. The physics is quite interesting because you have to produce plasma "wire". NM Tech though does allot of interesting stuff besides this, I got a tour a few years ago and was thinking of going to Socorro for grad school.