The use of a high-power laser to provide an electrical path of low resistance

Recent experiments have shown that a laser beam may be used to guide the path of an electric are over considerable distances. Simple physical ideas can be used to describe this process and obtain estimates of laser power needed and the characteristics of the resulting are. The process is analogous to a laser-supported are except that the laser provides the dominant ionization mechanism; the result is a region of low resistance along the path defined by the laser beam. A sufficiently intense laser beam can create an electrical path of low resistance over a distance of the order of meters in air at atmospheric pressure, The intensity of the beam is critical. The arrangement allows the laser to determine the path of the electrical current and might be used as a circuit element in large-scale devices, or as a means of preventing the buildup of excessive electrostatic charge, or of discharging it in a controlled manner before it becomes hazardous. (C) 1998 Laser Institute of America.