New Use for Old Spy Plane - Discovering Secret of Lightning

A spy plane retrofitted with research equipment has discovered some very intriguing things while observing thunderstorms in the tropics. 

According to a new paper published by the researchers behind the retrofitted spy plane, it appears that storms in the tropics are actually littered with medium-duration gamma rays, which could completely change what we know about how lightning forms.

The new papers, which were published in the journal Nature this month, describe in great detail the data that the researchers gathered while observing the atmosphere during tropical thunderstorms. According to that data, the lightning within those storms could very well be caused by long-duration gamma-ray emissions that sweep across parts of the atmosphere throughout the storm’s duration. more

In Other News... Laser Device Can Make Lightning Strike Specific Targets

An international team of researchers says that small lasers could be used to guide lightning strikes — much like Thor’s legendary hammer Mjölnir.

“It turns out that to deliver particles, you do not need high-intensity lasers, even low intensity like your laser pointer will be already enough,” Andrey Miroshnichenko, a researcher at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, Australia, told Agence France Presse of the work...

“We can imagine a future where this technology may induce electrical discharge from passing lightning, helping to guide it to safe targets and reduce the risk of catastrophic fires,” co-researcher Vladlen Shvedov from the Australian National University told AFP.

Or you could use it to smite your enemies. Just saying. more