NEURO-LIGHTNING

The project concerns the plasma physics of lightning.

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Lightning travels extremely fast and consists of subprocesses with short timescales and a large range of light intensity that is almost impossible to capture with cameras. We then know much about the general physics of lightning but less about its inner physics.

We will address this challenge by designing a fast, optical imaging system based on the neuromorphic imaging technique, a new technique developed for use in other areas but has yet to be applied to lightning research. The system will be deployed at a lightning research facility, the Säntis Tower in Switzerland, to measure natural and laser-triggered lightning at close range.

We will be able to image lightning with unprecedented detail, giving us a better understanding, for instance, of how lightning initiates, propagates and connects to structures on the ground.