Stealing celestial fire [artificial lightning]

By shining powerful laser pulses between two electrodes, a group of French and German scientists found that they can elicit a controllable form of lightning. Using pulses from the Teramobile laser, electrons are ripped from air molecules creating a plasma and the refractive index of the air is changed, a phenomenon called the Kerr effect. The effect focuses the light just enough to balance plasma-induced diffraction, creating a straight and highly conductive channel, called a filament, which can stretch up to 3.8 meters between the charged electrodes. The scientists hope that their invention will eventually help to fend off lightning strikes on airports and power stations.