Lightning on Demand

The principal goal of Lightning On Demand is to design, construct and operate a proposed large-scale experimental platform known as the Advanced Lightning Facility. This facility will consist of two 12-story resonant transformer structures, capable of generating 300ft lightning discharges continuously through open air -- and deliver current intensities similiar to those of natural terrestrial strikes.

The physics of air under electrical breakdown limits the maximum practical size of a Tesla Coil to about 12 stories in height. Greg Leyh started Lightning On Demand (LOD) in 1996 as a focus for designing and constructing a Tesla coil system that would operate at this limit. In addition to posing an interesting engineering challenge, this facility will provide a unique scientific research platform for studying natural lightning phenomena -- and operate as an world-class educational attraction for the general public.
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thanks to consumptive.org