Lightning

Science

This Lightning Machine Covers An Entire Football Field

1:40AM November 11, 2011 | Jesus Diaz

Insane. There’s no other adjective that can describe this mad project. A mad project that is perfectly doable: two 3m Tesla Coil towers separated by 80m. They will be capable of unleashing the energy of natural lightnings. More »

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Purple Lightning And Death From Above In Afghanistan

4:00AM November 8, 2011 | Sam Biddle

This looks like it should be airbrushed onto the side of a really tacky t-shirt, but it’s actually quite real! An Air Force F-15E near Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, illuminated by apocalyptic lightning. More »

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Lightning Striking Eiffel Tower Is Awesome And Frightening

12:56AM September 2, 2011 | Jesus Diaz

I wonder if they make tourist go down the Eiffel Tower if there’s a lightning storm approaching to Paris. After looking at this lightning engulfing its metal structure, I know I’d instantly get the hell out of there. [BBC]

Online

Mother Nature Doesn’t Give A Shit About Your Data

12:30AM August 9, 2011 | brent rose

We all ooh and ahh when lightning zaps from one cloud to another, but when the cloud that gets hit is the one where we store our data, suddenly it’s not so cool. More »

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Lightning Nails Tree, Nearly Takes Dude Filming With It

9:01AM August 3, 2011 | Mat Honan

You know how your mum always told you not to take shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm? Here’s why. You may want to put your headphones on for this one due to some NSFW language. More »

Cameras

Lightning Strikes Just 200m From Quick-Fingered Photographers

5:40PM May 25, 2011 | Kat Hannaford

There’s nothing as spectacular as watching a thunderstorm roll in on the dry Australian landscape, which could explain why I’ve just spooked myself by watching William Phuoc’s video of a bolt striking just 200m from where they were photographing. More »

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I’ll Always Be Scared Of A Lightning Bolt Striking A Plane

6:40AM May 13, 2011 | Casey Chan

What is it about lightning bolts that make them so goddamn scary? Oh yeah, that crazy electrocution thing. Now imagine being in a plane – in the freaking air – and getting struck by lightning. That’s what happened here. More »

Science

The Coolest Picture of Lightning You’ll Likely See Today

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1:29PM March 3, 2011 | Daniel Long

Given the good timing of this shot, the photographer called it a ‘once in a lifetime’ image. The picture was taken with several filters added and six second exposure time. More »

Science

When Lightning Strikes Erupting Volcanoes

7:00PM January 28, 2011 | Adrian Covert

Japan’s Mount Kirishima is experiencing its biggest eruption in 50 years, sending smoke and ash 5000 feet (1524m) up into the air. And for the hell of it, a lightning bolt decided to strike the volcano at the same time. More »

Science

Gigantic 1,500-Pound Camera Captures First X-Ray Images Of Lightning

6:22PM December 28, 2010 | Rosa Golijan

Some madly brilliant scientists recently used a gigantic 1,500-pound camera to capture x-ray images of lightning—which they triggered artificially using wires and rockets. Crazy? Maybe, but it’s definitely a beautiful experiment. More »