Wednesday, May 15, 2013 - 10:34am
Travis Roe captured this spectacular image of lightning lighting up the Grand Canyon.
lightning stories
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 - 2:42pm
In January, Japan's Sakurajima volcano erupted, and boy was it angry. Never mess with a volcano if it's dishing out lava and lightning at the same time.
Thursday, December 20, 2012 - 10:51am
Dean Mullin took this picture on Belait Beach in Brunei. This long exposure shot of lightning over the South China Sea shows an offshore oil platform in the lower left, too.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - 2:39pm
Don't worry, scientists are using their powers for good when they harness lightning in a lab to destroy concrete. The lightning zap breaks up the rubble into its core components without all the environmental mess created by shredding it.
Friday, September 14, 2012 - 9:18am
Apple launched the new iPhone 5 with much fanfare on Wednesday, but most of its upgrades are evolutionary rather than revolutionary. One change however, strikes me as a potential major pain in the rear: the new "all digital" Lightning connector. This article contains new information.
Friday, July 13, 2012 - 12:39pm
See that faint little red thing above the bright white thing in this picture? That's a red sprite, a relatively rare atmospheric phenomenon that sometimes accompanies lightning strikes, except in the opposite direction, firing upwards towards space.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 - 10:27am
NASA has its eyes in the sky keeping track of all kinds of climate and weather happenings. One interesting (and kind of scary) thing the agency tracks is where lightning strikes around the world. NASA has kindly put the data in maps that show the trends so we know where and why lightning is likely to hit next.
Friday, March 30, 2012 - 1:38pm
French scientists have shown in a series of lab experiments that they can exert long-range control over exactly where bolts of lightning hit using laser-induced plasma filaments. Repeat after me: "Muahahahaha!"
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 - 10:57am
It's more or less impossible for us puny humans to duplicate the raw epic power of a lightning bolt. They can travel at 140,000 mph (or about Mach 184 if you're counting), heat the surrounding air to three times the temperature of the surface of the sun, and transmit enough energy to toast approximately 100,000 slices of bread. To study a lightning bolt, you first have to capture it, and it turns out that the best way to do that is to fire rockets at thunderstorms. Yeah, it's probably best not to try this at home.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - 11:27am
Tall buildings get blasted with lightning bolts all the time, but instead of freaking out about it, this skyscraper concept actually harvests those lightning bolts to generate power.
