New lasers could make lightning

It's long been known that rain and lightning are the results of natural interactions between charged particles within the clouds. Many have argued that lasers have the potential to excite these ions and electrons and artificially trigger a storm, perhaps providing a useful weapon against drought. the most problem has been producing a powerfull enough beam. But now two photonics and optics graduates think they need the answer: two laser beams. the primary high-intensity laser is surrounded by a less-intense, doughnut-shaped beam, which supplies the extra energy to forestall the primary one breaking down. Still within the preliminary stages, to date the doubled-up laser, or dressed filament, has reached 2.1 metres (164 feet) or more may be achived.