Discover lightning’s electrifying truth at free public talks

Tess Light of Los Alamos National Laboratory discusses those bright cracks across the sky at Frontiers in Science talks in Santa Fe, Los Alamos and Albuquerque

September 9, 2019

2019-09-09
Tess Light will discuss lightning at free public talks starting Sept. 11.

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Sept. 9, 2019—Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Tess Light will discuss the beauty and mystery of lightning at three Frontiers in Science public talks starting Sept. 11 in Santa Fe.

“On any given day lightning flashes nearly 4 million times across the earth,” said Light, a physicist at the Laboratory. “Yet it’s surprising that this routine natural phenomenon is still commonly misunderstood.”

Titled “Lightning: Illuminating its mystery,” the talks will explore lightning’s role in the atmosphere, the different types of lightning, what triggers those bright cracks across the sky and what determines the shape of a lightning bolt.

All presentations take place at new venues, begin at 7 p.m. and are free of charge. The talks are:

  • Wednesday, Sept. 11 at Jean Cocteau Cinema, 418 Montezuma Avenue, Santa Fe
  • Wednesday, Sept. 18 at Cottonwood on the Greens, Community Room, 4244 Diamond Drive, Los Alamos
  • Wednesday, Oct. 2 at Dialogue Brewing, 1501 1stStreet NW, Albuquerque

Sponsored by the Fellows of Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Frontiers in Science lecture series is intended to increase local public awareness of the diversity of science and engineering research at the Laboratory.

About Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is managed by Triad, a public service oriented, national security science organization equally owned by its three founding members: Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), and the Regents of the University of California (UC) for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.