'Lightning-in-a-Box' Concept Could Shrink a Thunderstorm to the Size of Your Thumb

Thunderstorms belong to a non-exhaustive list of surprisingly mundane things that we know surprisingly little about. Last year, a team of engineers identified how lightning forms on cloud tops. The same team is now back with another surprising contraption: a miniature, plastic “lightning-in-a-box.” In a recent study published in Physical Review Letters, engineers led by Victor Pasko of Penn State University reported that they devised a concept for an apparatus to model lightning strikes. That might not sound so impressive, but according to their simulations, the box would be slightly larger than a deck of cards and require relatively cheap, accessible materials to create. That all hinges on whether the team can experimentally prove their concept. But if they’re successful, engineers, atmospheric scientists, and physicists could have a field day exploring lightning with unprecedented convenience. “If you’re able to experiment with lightning-like conditions on a desktop under controlled conditions, it would be wonderful—much more cost-effective and could answer so many questions,” Pasko said in a statement. The results are the latest in a series of studies from Pasko, who in 2023 dev