The original question was: Would it be possible to create a very dense cloud cover inside a laboratory under controlled conditions and generate “artificial lightning”? the Power output would be Amazing!! it would really help solve our energy crisis.
The Chaitén volcano in Chile. Holy shit.
Physicist: Lightning is generated in the same way that static electricity is generated when you drag your feet on a carpet. A storm cloud or an ash cloud is just a whole mess of feet and carpet. As ash explodes out of a volcano it rubs together. Almost all of that kinetic energy becomes more heat, but a very, very small fraction becomes electrical energy.
It is entirely possible to create static electricity, and even lightning using this method. Van de Graaf generators, for example, use rubbing to generate voltages in excess of a 1,000,000V. However, it’s a very inefficient method for generating power. Dynamo generators (the standard generator) are surprisingly efficient.
Essentially, it would take a lot of energy to throw all that dust into the air and get it moving and, because you can’t get more energy out than you put in, it wouldn’t be worth it. In fact the electrical power you would get out would be tiny compared to the power it took to make it work in the first place. That being said, it would look pretty cool, so why not?
Artificial lightning (in miniature) is regularly created in places like NEETRAC at Georgia Tech.
An artificial lightning bolt.
This lightning is generated using capacitor banks (not rubbing stuff together, the way natural lightning is created) and is feeble by comparison to the real thing. Also, it isn’t used to generate power. It’s used to test the ability of new equipment and machines to survive lightning strikes.
Speaking of lightnings… Have you guys seen videos of the “ArcAttack” musical tesla coil at the Bay Area Maker Faire? Pretty neat.
where lightning come from?
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i am working on a similar project, and my question is this, if one used solar panels to capture the energy needed to create the supercell storm and power other processes, could the scaled down lightning power electrolysis cells capable of converting ocean water, into clean air, clean water, hydrogen fuel, etc, and be controlled so as not to cause a massive explosion due to the combustibility of the split elements?
How artificial lightining is possible using capacitor banks?
Capacitors can store electrical energy, but unlike batteries, they’re really good at releasing that power all at once.
how to use the lightining power because your concept is to produce a electrical energy from lightining but you waste the energy to create it so your artifical lightining must be produce wastage
Am thinking on this kind of a thing tat is about creating a lightning bolt..for tat what are the areas one should be thorough?
if we capture lightning energy by some eqiupment and than it can converted into arc such as tubelight and then light emits from it, is collected by the solar plate. it is possible or not …my question is littel stupid but i think that…..give me suggestion…
@Prabhu,
He is not suggesting creating artificial lightning to generate power. The setup being suggested here is used to design a system which can capture lightning when it occurs naturally. But before one can have such a setup which can actually capture natural lightning, one should be able to test it. For that testing purpose one has to have access to lightning whenever it is needed. So they try to use a mechanism which can generate lightning. This is used only for design and testing not for actual generation use. Once the design is perfected using this artificial lightning one can try to use it with real lightning.
Also directly using/testing it with real lightning apart from being unreliable would also be somewhat foolhardy as one may not know the physical limits of the setup. Natural lightning might damage it in the first instance. But using artificial lightning one can slowly increase the intensity of the lightning as required and finally arrive on to the actual intensity limit till which the setup to capture lightning power will work without getting damaged. Again the artificial lightning is being used to design and test.
Is it possible to conserve static charges…..and lightning is neutralised when it is arrested by a lightning arrestor then how to separate it as positive and negative charges if also it is conserved….
Instead of trying to create artificial lightning artificially, what about trying and creating natural lightning artificially by creating a highly pressurized area with a high amount of static energy in the air? Wouldn’t this be able to create energy efficiently?
Well… I guess I’m not going to Chile.
I think that some sort of solution lies in these ideas. This is not my field of study, I am a hobbyist, but I’ve always thought that if we could either harness real lightning, or recreate a scaled down version, a lot of our energy problems would be solved.
I particularly liked Tyler Mcmahon’s Idea of using an existing, “free” source of energy, such as solar, or hydro, it could be done.
I will have to study up on the Physicist’s response that you cannot get out more energy than you put in. That seems to be the real limitation of all of this.
Max Richard
would it be possible if it were in a big building like the ones that have their own weather patterns? maybe with a high enough humidity to have fog and stuff? lightning comes from the static build up from droplets and ice crystals so if you could get those conditions in an enclosed space like that and have some conductive poles through it to collect the energy it might be possible. i don’t know it’s just an idea i had at two A.M
Just a thought, we have Louis Michaud creating an artificial tornado, with being able to do this then he should be able to regulate the environment ( add particles to be able to cause static). As we know static causes electricity, this static needs to be earthed and then we have a means of capturing electricity. Can you cause a tornado removing the particles in the air that static doesn’t use? Just an after thought.
I’m looking to create a aircraft that has an electromagnetic propulsion system. I want to use static electricity generated easily as a power source to supply the aircraft with unlimited power and speed. The entire craft would be made of a highly conducive metal and charged by the release of electricity made by static. Top or A pole would be positive, and B pole bottom would be negative. Essentially when airborne one would be able to defy gravity and would not be bound other forces of nature. Wind, drag, etc..would be eliminated. You would be able to travel as you wished. Altitude height would be completely irrelevant and the craft would be entirely energy self sufficient. I have the understanding of how to build, but don’t have all the fancy words you all use.
Max Richard Jr said, “I particularly liked Tyler Mcmahon’s Idea of using an existing, “free” source of energy, such as solar, or hydro, it could be done.”
What could be done? Would it be practical to use solar generated static electricity to create microlightning to generate nitrates in a contained atmosphere where artificial rain might collect nutrients for a drip-line to the garden?
Better to focus on the premis of cold fusion than to consider a process where only a fraction of the result is electical lightning and the rest is waste heat energy.
hello , ive had an idea but might not be able to make it happen. It has to do with lightning concept ,how its created naturally. Anyways if anyone sees this please try and hopefully itll work(if you become rich at least give me some cash) xD. The project is a container with psio electric crystals (the size of a sand grain). Using a one way valve(thinking about teslas valve so the crystals dont fly out easily) air flows into the container and makes the crystals crash into each other generating static electricity. The container itself can be made out of a conductive material with a capicitor nearby storing the energy or battery. This idea can be attached to a vehicle (plane, car, motorcycle) the movement of the vehicle itslef will make the wind go thru the one way valve and start the process. I know there will be drag due to the air flow stopping on the contqiner but the solution might be putting two more one way valves that allow the air to flow out and just make the crystals stay in there somehow . The psio electric crystals will help speed the process of making static electricty as they produce electricity when stress is applied to them(the crashing). I know its a far fetch idea and similar to the ion turbine butttt who knows it might work.
Thanks for having this site. I wonder if the recent number of lightning strikes in Northern California in August which ignited so many fires all at once might have been man-made? Could there be conditions fostered & somehow manipulated by people to cause such a widespread of lightning strikes throughout the area.
I’m trying to use using capacitor banks to capture and want to use static electricity generated easily as a power source to supply the aircraft with unlimited power and speed. To collect the energy I need I want to keep it stabilized enough to create a energy source. but if we capture lightning energy by some equipment and than it can converted into arc such as tube light and then light emits from it, is collected by the solar plate. it is possible or not. If so we can make and contain artificial lightning to solve our problems, but we also need to contain it. and it would take years to develop artificial lightning
how can you lightning bend
Magnetics..
Gravity should give you an Idea on how magnetic pull should work with lightning/ tides/ Solar flare etc..
Think out of the box
if you could direct the charge from the vehicle would the vaccum associated with the charge be powerfull enough to pull you along and could a frequency be an answer tesla was big on frequencies i think we should look back in history and research why these visitors came here and how they left they seemed to land in high static areas and always built high buildings capable of holding a vehicle for take off and or capturing lightning the annunaki mob came for gold apparently why and did they get home and if so how i think its gonna be a real simple recipe if we over think it we can easliy get off track
Hello, lovely thread to read. I had this image of a city that struck me (no pun intended). It is a city which generates some/all of its power from the natural/artificial lightnings created in a safely manner. I was thinking about setting a city made from such materials the movement in the city could create the static charge. You can imagine this utopian city of latex wearing glass rod bearing city for now.
So thats why i started researching the topic of harnessing lightnings in such way. Amazing ideas here that could be implemented in such imaginary city. I want to create plans and architecture accordiny (i am an architect btw) and I wish to create a science fiction like city.
Suggestions for topics, systems and machines are more than welcome.
Thanks in advamce!
Batur
I am in a project to generate electricity from artificial lightning, which is expected in the future
Is it possible to harness the electricity prior to the lightning strike, from the electrically active, static charged matter? Wirelessly? Was that what tesla needed a tower for?