In Frankenstein´s Laboratory

At the cavernous lab of Lightning Technologies, in Pittsfield, Mass., you first hear a horn´s warning blast, then a huge kapow. That´s the sound that electrons make when 2.4 million volts send them burning a zigzag path through the air. The bolt proceeds from the hanging double corona ring to a model supplied by one of the lab´s clients, in this case an airline that needs to test how lightning affects its planes´ ever more pervasive electronic control systems. (If you´re a frequent flier, you´ve surely been zinged by Zeus several times already.)