How are you guys? Today we will talk about the extreme weather events that are increasingly frequent and with them also lightning, potentially harmful elements that a group of researchers want to keep at bay with a new high-speed system tech. The idea is certainly ambitious and is headed by a Swiss physicist called Jean-Pierre Wolf, laser expert with a passion for meteorology who managed to set up a consortium dedicated to his project.
It took longer than expected due to the pandemic but the complex system was transported and installed on the summit of the Santis, a mountain in the Swiss Alps at 2,500 meters high. The place was chosen for the elevation but also for the location, it\seems in fact that it is one of the points in Europe where "fall" more lightning, with a radio broadcasting tower that is hit on average from 100 to 400 times a year. In short, a place where you can’t be very quiet when the sky turns gray.
From such a privileged position will act the gigantic laser that has been assembled at the summit, a sort of bollard capable of "shooting" if necessary to reduce the risk of lightning and counteract them in the bud. The latter, remember, originate from the presence of negative charges in the lower part of a storm cloud (generated by the interaction between water particles and ice crystals) and the following creation of areas with opposite electric charges. The resulting positive charges on the ground determine the potential difference and the result is nothing more than a powerful electric discharge with the characteristic thunder. The laser designed by Wolf will do nothing but artificially create the conditions, tearing electrons from their atoms and creating opposite charges necessary for the formation of lightning. In this way lightning can be discharged directly into the clouds, before they can become dangerous for humans. The laser will strike directly from the 120m high transmission tower and concentrate a huge a mount of energy in an extremely short time.
For safety reasons a no-fly zone will be activated with in 5 km around the laser when active, the researchers then explain that it will also be a spectacle to observe if the tests take place; given the power of the pulse, In fact, the laser will change color from red to white. It will be visually impaired, but it could be very useful if the tests are successful. In a next step we already think about the use in the airport where lightning is particularly feared, but also on the ground given the numbers involved: according to a scientific study are between 6 thousand and 24 thousand people killed every year in the world by lightning and the damage caused to electronic parts and equipment a mounted to billions of euros.
Airports could also benefit from similar technology, as the disruption of air traffic due to storms creates losses of billions of dollars every year in the United States alone.
The laser shoots 1,000 times per second and is so powerful that "a single pulse at maximum power is the same as that produced by all the nuclear power plants in the world," explains Wolf, although of course we’re only talking about a very short fraction of time.
The laser will not always stay on, but will only be activated when more lightning activity is detected. On the mountain, special photographic equipment will photograph lightning 300,000 times per second, to see how closely the laser beam will follow and at what altitude.
The tests will last until September. If they succeed, the next experiment could involve an airport and the technology will be ready in a few years.
Cristiano P., 4sc
No comments:
Post a Comment