Giant Terawatt Laser Takes Aim at Lightning Strikes from Atop Swiss Alps
DITZINGEN, Germany, July 21, 2021 — TRUMPF reports that the first experiments in the EU Laser Lightning Rod (LLR) project, in collaboration with the University of Geneva, are complete. The project uses an experimental high-repetition terawatt laser that the collaborators have placed at the top of Säntis, a mountain in the Swiss Alps that houses a radio transmission tower. The researchers aim to use the laser system to conduct a series of weather experiments and, specifically, control lightning from storm clouds and