According to a study published in Nature Photonics, scientists created a laser lightning rod. And successfully tested the massive virtual laser on a mountaintop in Switzerland.

Global statistics point out that lightning causes up to 24,000 deaths a year. It can cause life-threatening power outages. It creates widespread regional forest fires on a seasonal basis. And lightning also damages or destroys infrastructure.

The groundbreaking laser lightning rod was developed by members of the European consortium. It was designed by Munich, Germany-based TRUMPF to withstand inclement weather including fog that often drifts around the mountain's summit. And the massive weather-controlling laser was set up to divert lightning strikes. 

The large car-sized laser beam was installed near a telecom tower on the summit of Mount Säntis the tallest mountain in the region. It was chosen since lightning strikes the tower an estimated 100 times a year.

Laser lightning rod 

The study took place between July 21 and September 30, 2021. And abstract details weren’t released until January 2023.

According to the study, “Lightning has fascinated and terrified humankind since time immemorial. Based on satellite data, the total lightning flash rate worldwide—including cloud-to-ground and cloud lightning—is estimated to be between 40 and 120 flashes per second.”

Ben Franklin’s invention

The most widely used protection against direct lightning strikes is the lightning rod. It was invented by a founding father of the USA, Benjamin Franklin in the 18th century. 

Also known as the Franklin rod it consists of a pointed conducting mast connected to the ground or grounded. “It protects buildings and their immediate surroundings by providing a preferential strike point for the lightning and guiding its electric current safely to the ground.”

It works by intercepting lightning and diffusing the strikes safely to the ground.

But the protection zone remains relative to their height. So, a lightning rod that is 10 meters (32.8 feet) tall protects an area generally with a 10-meter radius.

Using this method to protect areas with broad ranges such as power stations, airports, launchpads, wind farms, and even nuclear power plants can be problematic.

The Experiment

The Laser Lightning Rod weighs over 3 tons, is almost 5 feet wide, and is over 26 feet long. And the device was tested at a height of 8,208 feet on top of Mount Säntis.

High-speed cameras were set up to record the strikes. And high-frequency electromagnetic waves created by lightning were measured. X-ray bursts that were emitted by the strikes were analyzed, as well.

Jean-Pierre Wolf, professor of applied physics at the University of Geneva, worked as co-author of the experiment/study. 

In a statement, Wolf explained, "When very high-power laser pulses are emitted into the atmosphere, filaments of very intense light form inside the beam." 

"From the first lightning event using the laser, we found that the discharge could follow the beam for nearly 60 meters (196 feet) before reaching the tower," Wolf added, "meaning that it increased the radius of the protection surface from 120 meters (393 feet) to 180 meters (590 feet)."