Last year marked the 270th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin’s lightning rod — but it’s more than a relic of history. The Franklin rod remains in use today because the simple design exploits some ...

A group of scientists said they were able to guide lightning bolts using laser technology for the first time. In new work published in the journal Nature Photonics, international researchers said ...

Join us on Wednesday, March 31 at noon Pacific for the Physics of Lightning Hack Chat with Greg Leyh! Of all the things that were around to terrify our ancestors, lightning must have been right up ...

Ball lightning - a slow-moving ball of light that is occasionally seen at ground level during thunderstorms - has puzzled scientists for centuries. There have also been reports of ball lightning in ...

Ball lightning has mystified scientists and witnesses for centuries, appearing as glowing orbs during thunderstorms that seem to defy physics. While thousands of people report seeing these luminous ...

This video was a two month journey digging into the physics of sandstorms, and how particle collisions create electric charge ...

A warmer planet with rising pollution, population density and urbanization is intensifying human exposure to lightning hazards, warn scientists. Evidence points to a concentration of lightning strikes ...

What steps can be taken to mitigate lightning strikes on future aircraft designs? This is what a recent study published in IEEE Access hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated new ...

Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. After nearly 100 years of speculating that thunderstorms could trigger a nuclear reaction in the atmosphere, scientists ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American Physicist Todd Johnson has been working at ...