[FPSPACE] Using a laser beam from a Katrina memorial to power a solar sail mission

[LARRY KLAES]

Using a laser beam from a Katrina memorial to power a solar sail mission

Research affiliate envisions towering Katrina memorial

Anne Trafton, MIT News Office

June 4, 2008

After Hurricane Katrina left its trail of destruction along the Gulf coast, 
MIT research affiliate Joe Davis decided to do something to memorialize the 
hurricane victims and inspire the survivors.

His idea? Build a tower that will capture electricity from lightning, using 
it to power a laser beam that throws energy back into the sky.

...

The 106-foot tower would be similar to a lightning rod but would differ in 
several important ways.

When lightning strikes the tower, its three vertical aluminum masts will 
form the electrodes of a resonant cavity that would electrically break down 
nitrogen in the air and trigger an ultraviolet laser discharge that sends 
beams back into the sky.

According to Davis, these beams may in turn trigger powerful secondary 
lightning discharges; as a consequence, enormously powerful secondary laser 
discharges will also be produced. Davis points out that solar sail 
researchers await such powerful lasers to propel solar sails beyond the 
inner solar system.

Full article here:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/katrina-towers-tt0604.html