Lightning is one of the most familiar spectacles in the sky, yet the exact spark that starts a bolt has remained stubbornly out of reach. Now a physicist has managed to trap a microscopic particle and ...

A particle accelerator was used to create lightning in a bottle by charging a spinning acrylic tube with high-energy ...

Using a precisely aligned pair of laser beams, scientists can now hold a single aerosol particle in place and monitor how it charges up. The particle’s glow signals each step in its changing ...