# Could we capture and store the electricity from lightning? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 15, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021 "2011-11-15T16:59:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/1 "2011-11-15T16:59:47Z")
Seems a waste to have all that vast power zapping back and forth in the sky, and occasionally to the ground, and not be able to make use of it. How long until we can erect a tower in an area prone to lightning, with a very well-insulated cable leading to a big bank o’ batteries that could be thus charged? Maybe a dumb question, but driving through a very lively lightning storm last night made me wonder. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/2 "2011-11-15T17:07:02Z")
Short answer: no. Longer discussion [in this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=122844). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/3 "2011-11-15T17:09:46Z")
A perennial: [Why can’t we capture lighting?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=122844) [I want free electricity dammit!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=193240) [lightning?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=73605) [Capacitor Pyramids as Energy Source. Why or why not?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=380220) [Is it possible to create lightning by human means ? If so , can we someday use it for energy ?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=584372) And here’s the one that should make you really should be embarrassed about this question. [Extracting Electricity from Lightning storms: Would This Work?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=405373) ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/4 "2011-11-15T17:11:39Z")
You don’t happen to own a DeLorean, do you? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/5 "2011-11-15T17:33:38Z")
No DeLorean, dammit. Thanks for the links. Didn’t see those in my earlier search. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/6 "2011-11-16T07:54:57Z")
Could you store the energy by splitting water into H and O? Seems it might be simpler than using capacitors. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/7 "2011-11-16T08:29:02Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Could you store the energy by splitting water into H and O? Seems it might be simpler than using capacitors. Well, technically of course you can. A few months ago, a combined power plant using this method was brought online in Germany: wind wheels connected with electrolysis plant + storage tanks for H2 + gas power plant: when the wind blows and more energy than needed right now is produced, the overflow is used to split water into H2 (+O2). The H2 is stored and can be mixed up to 20% of volume with methane (natural gas), that can then be burned later to produce power, or be piped down to heat houses. But of course that uses European physics. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/8 "2011-11-17T01:26:26Z")
I mean, what would happen if you directed a huge current into a tank of salt water (or the sea)? Would most of the energy be used to split water, or would there be side reactions? ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/9 "2011-11-17T09:46:01Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > I mean, what would happen if you directed a huge current into a tank of salt water (or the sea)? Would most of the energy be used to split water, or would there be side reactions? Well, if you direct it into the sea, there might be boiled fishies, which is not nice. Hydrolisis works with two cathodes, (so no open ocean), and produces two gases, so you need a mechanism to trap them, otherwise, they’ll mingle and explode when a spark is produced, or they’ll float away. That trapping mechanism needs to be ready whenever lightning might strike, so you have a baseline cost - but you can’t tame lightning to strike your copper spike vs the cell tower 50 yards away or the roof over there or just the other cloud without ground contact, so even if you only turn your catcher on when a thunderstorm is predicted, you can still end up without catch. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/10 "2011-11-17T09:52:11Z")
hold it! all those threads and all the wikis don’t say you can’t store electricity from lightning. you can (why ever not?) what they’re all saying is one lightning bolt gives you 10,000 volts but you won’t get enough kilowatt hours to run a huose for a month. the reason is a bolt has only a 1/1000 sec duration. to be economically viable, you need a lightning farm (several bolts a day.) ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/11 "2011-11-17T14:02:50Z")
The real fun issue is not siting the lightning farm, it is trying to build the farm - erecting towers, hooking up the water tanks - without having your work force getting electrocuted. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/12 "2011-11-17T14:11:39Z")
That doesn’t seem too big a challenge. You have some temp towers on trucks that you can drive in, raise and immediately ground on a clear day at the beginning of your project. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/13 "2011-11-17T14:17:52Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > That doesn’t seem too big a challenge. You have some temp towers on trucks that you can drive in, raise and immediately ground on a clear day at the beginning of your project. I ain’t drivin’. You can drive. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/14 "2011-11-17T14:22:35Z")
Will do. Let’s draft the contract. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/15 "2011-11-17T14:37:39Z")
\*\*Exapno \*\* writes: > [@](#): > > And here’s the one that should make you really should be embarrassed about this question. > > Extracting Electricity from Lightning storms: Would This Work? This answer seriously pisses me off. At the SDMB we claim to be fighting ignorance. This kind of attitude bullies ignorance into silence instead of alleviating it. There’s nothing to be gained by intimidating someone who might want to ask a question. Especially because, in a limited way, the answer is arguably “yes”. It’s certainly not a good idea to take the immense power of a lightning strike and try to store it for later useful release. But Fronklin’s original kite experiment did, in fact, extract charge from atnospheric voltage difference (not a lightning strike, or he’d likely have been killed) and store it in a Leyden jar: > **[Kite experiment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_experiment)** > > The kite experiment is a scientific experiment in which a kite with a pointed conductive wire attached to its apex is flown near thunder clouds to collect static electricity from the air and conduct it down the wet kite string to the ground. The experiment was first proposed in 1752 by Benjamin Franklin, who reportedly conducted the experiment with the assistance of his son William. The experiment's purpose was to investigate the nature of lightning and electricity, which were not yet understoo... In 1753 Georg Wilhelm Richmann, replicating Franklin’s kite experiment, got himself killed by lightning. we hear about Franklin, but rarely about Richmann or the others who didn’t survive the attempt. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/16 "2011-11-17T17:58:58Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > This answer seriously pisses me off. At the SDMB we claim to be fighting ignorance. This kind of attitude bullies ignorance into silence instead of alleviating it. There’s nothing to be gained by intimidating someone who might want to ask a question. You’re misreading it. It was a mild bit of snark about the OP of that thread. Since it was one of a half dozen threads on the issue, I thought it would be obvious that the question was real and a matter of interest. I apologize if others didn’t understand either. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/17 "2011-11-18T00:56:54Z")
a lightning farm doesn’t need to have permanent towers. everytime the ground charge is up and there’s a low-lying cloud, launch a wire up using either a model rocket or a strong crossbow. your permanent structures should only be single-story with good ground insulation and overhead lightning conductors. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/18 "2011-11-18T00:59:35Z")
I seem to recall a dude named Ben Franklin who tried. But a mouse named Amos vetoed his plans. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/19 "2011-11-18T01:05:07Z")
amos was at the kite itself when the bolt struck. more impressive was amos’ invention of the bifocal glasses and savvy reporting. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021/20 "2011-11-18T02:26:07Z")
> [@mac\_bolan00](#): > > a lightning farm doesn’t need to have permanent towers. everytime the ground charge is up and there’s a low-lying cloud, launch a wire up using either a model rocket or a strong crossbow. your permanent structures should only be single-story with good ground insulation and overhead lightning conductors. I ain’t crossbowin’. You 'bow. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-we-capture-and-store-the-electricity-from-lightning/603021.md?page=2)