Controlling Lightning with a Drone: A Managerable Aerial Approach
Japan's NTT, the world's fourth largest telecommunications company, has developed and tested a novel drone-based system aimed at mitigating the damage caused by lightning strikes. This innovative approach could revolutionize the protection of buildings, infrastructure, and sensitive areas from lightning-related harm.
The system's core innovation involves equipping drones with metallic Faraday cages and conductive tethers, which can be flown into stormy skies to actively attract, intercept, and safely guide lightning strikes away from vulnerable locations. By creating a preferential path for lightning discharge, the drones lessen the likelihood of strikes hitting critical structures.
NTT researchers subjected commercial drones fitted with protective cages to artificial lightning, and the drones withstood current levels of up to 150 kA—five times the typical natural lightning strike. During actual thunderstorms, a drone received a lightning strike while in flight, but it remained operational, albeit with a partially melted protective cage.
The potential benefits of this system extend beyond just safeguarding cities and sensitive areas. NTT envisions the technology's ability to capture and store the energy diverted from lightning, thereby offering practical applications for the energy so harnessed. However, realizing this ambition would require advancements in energy storage and conversion technology.
For those curious about the importance of channeling lightning away from critical infrastructure, consider the Apollo 12 mission. The mission's lunar module, which had been struck by lightning before launch, experienced a malfunction upon re-entry due to the lightning's effect on sensitive electronics.
NTT's drone-based lightning protection systems represent a significant advancement in lightning safety technology. While deployment and energy harvesting challenges remain, the demonstrated ability of the drones to withstand and redirect lightning strikes marks a significant step forward.
Key advantages of the system include its active and mobile protection capabilities, directing lightning away from sensitive targets, enhanced safety and durability, and wider application scope. Limitations and future prospects include operational challenges, the need for advancements in energy storage and conversion technology, and cost considerations.
Traditional lightning rods are fixed and only passively intercept strikes nearby, whereas NTT’s drones can be rapidly deployed to any location, making it a far more versatile solution. Conventional rods are primarily used for protecting fixed infrastructure, while the drone-based system can potentially protect wind turbines, large open-air gatherings, data centers, and other infrastructure where conventional rods are impractical or insufficient.
In conclusion, NTT’s drone-based lightning protection systems offer a proactive, mobile, and robust method for managing lightning risks, with the potential to significantly reduce damage to buildings, infrastructure, and sensitive areas. While operational, cost, and energy harvesting challenges remain, the demonstrated ability to survive and redirect lightning strikes marks a major step forward in lightning safety technology.
- The novel drone-based system developed by NTT, equipped with metallic Faraday cages and conductive tethers, combines science and technology to revolutionize lightning protection, offering a proactive solution for mitigating damage from lightning strikes.
- Beyond safeguarding buildings and infrastructure, NTT's vision for the technology includes harnessing the energy diverted from lightning, a potential application that could further fuse science and technology to provide practical solutions.
