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says Bernstein. He reckons that the forthcoming field tests will be the turning point - and he’s hoping for good
news. Bernstein predicts ‘an avalanche of interest and support’ if all goes well. He expects to see cloud-
zappers eventually costing $50,000 to $100,000 each.
Other scientists could also benefit. With a lightning ‘switch’ at their fingertips, materials
scientists could find
out what happens when mighty currents meet matter. Diels also hopes to see the birth of ‘interactive
meteorology’ - not just forecasting the weather but controlling it. ‘If we could discharge clouds, we
might affect the weather,’ he says.
And perhaps, says Diels, we’ll be able to confront some other meteorological menaces. ‘We think we could
prevent hail by inducing lightning,’ he says. Thunder, the shock wave that comes from a
lightning flash, is
thought to be the trigger for the torrential rain that is typical of storms. A laser thunder factory could shake the
moisture out of clouds, perhaps preventing the formation of the giant hailstones that threaten crops. With luck,
as the storm clouds gather this winter, laser-toting researchers could,
for the first time, strike back.
