The new development allows to control lightning, cause rain and stop it, rt.com reports.
Pentagon-sponsored researchers have created a very intense laser beam that is orders of magnitude different from previous designs. The researchers say their discovery could be used to cause rain or cancel it, control lightning, but the potential for possible applications is much greater.
A short, intense laser pulse produces plasma in its path. This plasma can interact with charged particles in a thundercloud and change the weather, rain starts to drizzle on demand, and lightning can be controlled. But sending a constant laser beam into the clouds has always been a challenge, because beams powerful enough to control the weather scatter very quickly.
A team of optical researchers from the University of Arizona and the University of Central Florida have found a way around this obstacle. They used a second, lower-intensity laser beam in the form of "clothing" for the first, as well as a power source for it. In a laboratory setting, this has expanded the range of the high-intensity beam from a few centimeters to several meters.
The potential of technology goes beyond our interaction with the planet's atmosphere. It can be applied in areas such as remote sensing for spectroscopy, which allows the analysis of chemical compounds at large distances, or the determination of the direction of microwaves. The US Department of Defense, which gave the green light to the $ 7.5 million study, of course knew it was worth the investment.
As for controlling the weather, the team must find a way to send a laser beam hundreds of meters into the sky and keep it energized, researchers say. Their paper, entitled "External Refueling of Optical Fiber," was published in the journal Nature Photonics.