Using a laser beam from a Katrina memorial to propel a solar sail mission

Research affiliate envisions towering Katrina memorial

Anne Trafton, MIT News Office

June 4, 2008

After Hurricane Katrina left its trail of destruction along the Gulf coast,
MIT research affiliate Joe Davis decided to do something to memorialize the
hurricane victims and inspire the survivors.

His idea? Build a tower that will capture electricity from lightning, using
it to power a laser beam that throws energy back into the sky.

...

The 106-foot tower would be similar to a lightning rod but would differ in
several important ways.

When lightning strikes the tower, its three vertical aluminum masts will
form the electrodes of a resonant cavity that would electrically break down
nitrogen in the air and trigger an ultraviolet laser discharge that sends
beams back into the sky.

According to Davis, these beams may in turn trigger powerful secondary
lightning discharges; as a consequence, enormously powerful secondary laser
discharges will also be produced. Davis points out that solar sail
researchers await such powerful lasers to propel solar sails beyond the
inner solar system.

Full article here:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/katrina-towers-tt0604.html