Guiding and triggering of large-scale electrical discharges using ultrashort pulse lasers

Summary form only given. The possibility of channeling lightning discharges is of enormous scientific and economic value but presents great technical challenges. The use of lasers to trigger and guide such discharges is an area of intense international research. Recent advances in ultra-short pulse lasers have opened new possibilities of achieving this goal. We have demonstrated the propagation of high intensity laser filaments over distances in excess of 200 meters, which could be used to guide lightning. We have studied the basic processes involved in the initiation and propagation of long-gap discharges using ultra-short pulse lasers, both experimentally and via numerical simulations.