San Diego, CA, - February 22, 2000 -

Scientists at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique in Quebec, Canada, have achieved a spectacular breakthrough in the creation of electrically conductive air channels. As reported in the May, 1999, issue of Physics of Plasmas , the researchers repeatedly generated laser-ionized conductive air channels 200 meters (656 feet) long! Although the conductive paths are intended to guide lightning strikes to earth rather than transmit weak currents to persons or vehicles, they easily could be employed for the latter purposes. HSV Technologies is delighted by this accomplishment, and urges all interested persons to read the complete report. It may be found in Physics of Plasmas, volume 6, number 5, pages pp. 1615 through 1621. The abstract is reproduced below:

"The propagation of high-power, short-pulse laser beams over considerable distances in air is studied both experimentally and via numerical simulations. Filaments are formed after 5 to 10 meters and their propagation over distances in excess of 200 meters is reported for the first time. The lateral dimensions of the filaments are found to range from about 100 micrometers to a few millimeters in diameter. The early values of the plasma electron density have been inferred to be a few times 10 ¹⁶ per cm³ using longitudinal spectral interferometry. For 500 femtosecond pulses and a wavelength of 1053 nanometers, the energy in the filament can be quite high initially, about 8 millijoules, and is found to stabilize at 1.5 to 2 millijoules after about 35 meters. A simple model based on the Schrodinger equation coupled to a multiphoton ionization law appears to describe the several experimental results quite well."