Detecting radiation is a fundamental necessity for national security, but doing so effectively and at a distance is a tall ...

A new technique pioneered by scientists at the University of Maryland uses lasers to create a “little ball of lightning” than can help detect radiation at least up to 10 meters from the source.

A laser then adds energy to those free electrons, causing them to collide with more air molecules, which in turn knocks more electrons loose. “It's almost like a little lightning ball right where it ...

These cosmic rays produce secondary, high-energy electrons and positrons in the atmosphere that further ionized the air and created pathways in thunderclouds, allowing lightning to follow and ...