This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
A bolt of lightning can light up the sky – but can its energy be captured to power the lights in our homes?
This was the first question explored in the new podcast “CrowdScience” from the BBC World Service.
In this podcast episode, Marnie Chesterton explores humanity’s history with lightning, how airplanes are protected from lightning strikes, and where most of the thunderstorms occur in the world. She also explores how – while we can capture the energy in lightning bolts – it is probably not worth it.
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To listen to the entire podcast (for free), check out this link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04dhs91
The CrowdScience team has published a number of other podcasts on energy topics, including:
Home Power Storage: Can batteries power our entire homes – or even help take us off-grid?
Wave Power: Could we generate all our electricity using energy from the sea?
Happy listening!