Why aren't we harnessing electricity from lightning?

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: dragonridr

That had nothing to do with the aurora. Induction, my dear Watson.

Thats why i said sort of lol.

originally posted by: Arbitrageur

originally posted by: stormcell

originally posted by: Arbitrageur
a reply to: stormcell
What's your source? How well did the experiments work?
Even with what you describe you would probably still need a small tower or some kind of projection to collect the lightning that is above the surrounding buildings, though it might not need to be as large.

link.springer.com...

phys.org...

www.popsci.com...

Phage was right, this is the same thing as the video he posted, which makes a currently dumb idea even dumber. You will consume far more energy by trying to use this device as you suggest (to avoid building towers), than you would collect from the lightning.

The channel only has to be maintained for a very short time (nanoseconds), would not need that much energy.

I remember reading something about 200J for a 20m channel.

Rocket-Triggered Lightning - AGU

I think this place should cover the lightning needed for those that think its a little random and hard to come by on land.
No need to storm chase it here

www.bbc.com...

now just the harnessing part to overcome