Re: 1000 foot sparks?

To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: 1000 foot sparks?
From: "Peter J. Papadopoulos" <pjp-at-compulink.gr>
Date: Tue, 11 Jun 1996 20:34:25 +0300
Cc: Tesla-list-subscribers-at-poodle.pupman-dot-com

Tesla List wrote:
> 
> >From EDHARRIS-at-MPS.OHIO-STATE.EDUMon Jun 10 20:26:17 1996
> Date: Sun, 09 Jun 1996 23:30:25 -0400 (EDT)
> From: EDHARRIS-at-MPS.OHIO-STATE.EDU
> To: tesla-at-pupman.COM
> Subject: Re: 1000 foot sparks?
> 
> For those interested in long sparks:
> 
> Check out "Gas Discharge Physics" by Yuri P. Raizer (Springer-Verlag 1991)
> 
> On page 159 experiments with optical breakdown in air using a Neodymium
> laser are discussed. Apparently a 60meter (196 feet) visible discharge
> channel was obtained with a laser pulse of 160 joules with peak power of
> 5GWatt....
> 
> it would have been interesting if they could have followed this initial ionized
> path with discharges from a large tesla coil. I wonder how long the
> discharge channel would have been stable...

I remember I had read an article on a french magazine (Science et Vie) 
about three years ago, discussing a (then) novel 
thunder-protection method developed in Japan. They used a laser to 
create a contacting path in the atmosphere at the proper place and time, 
and could thus discharge the cummulated electricity and thus prevent 
thunder hits.
I could search this article in my library, if there is any interest from 
the list, or privately.

Thanks,
Peter J. Papadopoulos
Athens, Greece.