【Haichuan Teahouse】A perfect bolt of lightning!

Test lightning rod? Is it still for shock protection?

In the 1960s, American scholars discovered in laboratory experiments that introducing a thin metal wire rapidly into a strong electric field would cause breakdown discharge, which led to the idea of artificially triggering lightning. Subsequently, artificial lightning was successfully induced by firing thin metal wires into thunderstorm clouds. France, Japan, the United States, and China have all carried out artificial lightning induction experiments and comprehensive measurements, achieving satisfactory results. Artificial lightning induction transforms the naturally occurring lightning, which happens randomly in space and time, into a phenomenon that can be controlled under specific thunderstorm conditions. This enables the use of various measurement methods to conduct close-up, comprehensive observations of the lightning discharge process, providing an effective new approach for in-depth study of lightning physics, lightning detection, protection, and other related scientific issues. Since the 1990s, the so-called \"air-triggered\" lightning induction technology has been further developed and improved; in this approach, the lower end of the thin metal wire carried by a rocket is not connected directly to the ground, but rather connected to the ground through a section of insulating nylon wire that is several dozen to several hundred meters long. In this way, once the thin metal wire is carried into the air by a rocket, upward and downward leaders are generated at its upper and lower ends where it connects to the nylon wire, respectively; under the influence of the electric field in the thunderstorm cloud, these leaders propagate in both directions – toward the thunderstorm cloud and toward the ground. When there is a negative charge at the base of a thunderstorm cloud, an upward positive leader is usually formed first, followed by a downward negative leader. This is similar to the downward leader in natural lightning; as it approaches the ground, it induces an upward counterleader on surface protrusions, resulting in a intense discharge process similar to a return stroke in natural lightning. Lightning induced by air-triggering has properties similar to natural downward lightning, making it more suitable for studying the mechanisms and processes of its interaction with ground targets. Currently, the main method for artificially triggering lightning is still using rockets to pull thin metal wires. For safety, rockets should have a parachute deployment or self-destruction function. Other artificial methods of triggering lightning, such as shooting flames or high-pressure water jets into thunderstorm clouds, as well as laser-induced lightning, have not achieved true success. In particular, with regard to laser-induced lightning, numerous laboratory experiments were conducted, resulting in laser-induced discharges several meters long; however, no confirmed cases of lightning triggered by lasers were observed in field experiments. To enable more widespread use of artificial lightning induction technology, further development of this technology is both necessary and highly meaningful.

I heard that if the energy from lightning could be stored, electricity use wouldn’t be a problem. If you drive an electric vehicle, you just wait for a lightning strike – with one such strike, the electricity needed to power that vehicle is sufficient

Is the reddish-brown smoke produced during lightning induction experiments and the firing of electromagnetic railguns nitrogen oxides?

Scientific experiments have nothing to do with environmental protection; for example, when launching a spacecraft, various pollutants are always generated……