In a mountaintop experiment, such a laser bent lightning toward a lightning rod, researchers report online January 16 in Nature Photonics. Scientists have used lasers to wrangle electricity in the ...

Their secret? Lasers, which were used to create a path of charged ions to smooth the path to the lightning rod. The basic challenge with directing lightning bolts is that the atmospheric events ...

“We found, from the first laser lightning event, that the discharge could follow the beam for almost 60 m (197 ft) before reaching the tower, thus increasing the radius of the protection surface ...

Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Scientists were ...

But now an ambitious experiment on a Swiss mountaintop has demonstrated that a laser beam also can help guide the path of lightning, extending the effectiveness of the Franklin rod high into the sky.

The laser could provide an alternative to the Franklin rod, a metal pole that intercepts lightning and redirects it toward the ground. The idea of using powerful lasers to redirect lightning ...

European researchers have successfully tested a system that uses terawatt-level laser pulses to steer lighting toward a 26-foot rod. It's not limited by its physical height, and can cover much ...

Made of metal and typically placed atop structures, lightning rods attract bolts and guide the current into the ground before it can cause damage. Since a laser beam can extend much higher than a ...