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Living in the Sky by Kite Systems
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| Nov. 3, 2019 Dave Santos Living in the Sky: Controlling Lightning with Lasers Artificial Lightning: Laser Triggers Electrical Activity In Thunderstorm For The First Time |
| June 13, 2020, post by Dave Santos Living in the Sky: Lightning and Turbulence will not pose major flight risks It rings fantastic, that we could live in sky in tensile kite aerotecture and thunderstorms would not mean trouble. Virtually all airliners are hit by lightning, without much fuss, since the aluminum skin is an effective Faraday Cage. Similarly, a car is pretty good protection. Aerotecture simply needs to provide the desired level of protection. There are even Faraday Suits. One could in principle skydive in lightning. Polymer cables could be covered in aluminum, and a sufficiently redundant lattice would keep masses suspended even if some tethers were melted. Graphene tethers will be remarkably resistant to lightning damage. In fact, lightning is less danger to aircraft than turbulence, which is mainly dangerous near the surface. Aircraft can be tossed around in the sky quite violently without damage, they are stronger than they look. Airplanes fly into hurricanes in ongoing research. Human limits, not airframe limits, can count most. An extended aerotecture lattice would damp out local turbulence. Living inside a storm cell would be similar to being in a ship in a storm, exciting, and not excessively dangerous if done right. A particularly attractive place in the sky to live is the stormy Equatorial Belt, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), above the sweltering surface. Advanced biological research, for example, could be done in great comfort over rugged tropical rainforest only a couple of kilometers below. Stormy weather would add to the charm of such a life. Storms could even be tapped for vertical wind energy in places where horizontal wind energy is scant. In fact the ITCZ is relatively a horizontal wind desert, the sailor's doldrums, while vertical convection abounds. There will always be a residual risk of a worst case disaster, like being directly hit by a tornado or superbolt. If a supercell develops, visiting the surface to weather it out will remain a reasonable option. There are a few conditions, like icing, that can cause disruption. Icing is confined to a narrow temperature band, so vertically extended kitematter can span it, mitigating impact. Its helpful that the sky there is reduced risk of earthquakes, floods, wild animals, and many other surface hazards. The sky can be the safest place to be. Sample anecdotal lighting case:
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