Lightning

Storm chasing is a branch of photography that requires tenacity and perseverance in order to capture lightning strikes. The Bolt Hunter is a lightning camera trigger that may be the solution to this challenging type of photography.

Living up to its name, University of Washington spin-off company ZAP Energy's Century system is developing fusion power technology by blasting plasma with super-lightning-like pulses 12 times per minute, without relying on superconducting magnets or laser beams.

In a world first, Japanese researchers flew a lightning-proof drone in a thunderstorm, using it to induce and direct natural lightning strikes. The team is now working on how this flying lightning rod might capture and store lightning energy.

In its sixth year the Siena International Photo Awards continues to impress with a captivating array of celebrated shots, from astonishing images of fire and lightning highlighting the power of nature, to some sublime perspectives on life in lockdown.

Given how deadly and destructive lightning can be, it would certainly be good to know in advance where and when it was going to strike. A new artificial intelligence-based system could help, utilizing nothing but standard weather-station data.

Thunderstorms are one of things that air pilots prefer to avoid, but it's estimated that every commercial aircraft is struck by lightning once a year. To bring the numbers down, engineers from MIT are working on a way to make airplanes less attractive to lightning by electrically charging them.

Industrial Design student Kama Jania from the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, Poland​ has created a working prototype of a lightning-proof tent. The Bolt tent is part of a series of three different tents that are each designed to protect users from direct lightning strikes and step voltage.

The new EL-8 Titanium headphones from Audeze come shipped with an audio cable that sports a built-in headphone amp and high resolution DAC in the cable. But instead of being plugged into the audio jack or an iPhone, this one ends in a Lightning connector.

Cloud, by New Zealand-based designer Richard Clarkson, is an interactive lamp designed to mimic a thundercloud. It brings the outside inside, providing an audiovisual show that looks and sounds like thunder and lightning ... but thankfully rain isn't included in the package.

Although the iPhone may indeed pack a whole plethora of features, it still lacks a USB port. This means that it can't share files with a Mac or PC via a regular flash drive. The iStick, however, isn't regular. According to its creators, it's the world's first Lightning-to-USB flash drive.

Taiwanese design company KB is set to release its Brick Lightning Cap which will connect Lightning iPhones and iPads to standard Lego bricks.

A device being developed at the Picatinny Arsenal military research facility in New Jersey directs lightning bolts down plasma channels created by high intensity laser beams.