Comment by nomilk
5 hours ago
That 7 second video of a small rocket shot into a cloud to induce a lightning strike (about half way down the article) is incredible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BJIiX9_c_M
Any ideas why the lightning strike appears mostly green (and momentarily purple and orange)?
Copper emits a green-blue light in the flame test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwsexjcROH4
I'm imagining it's something related to the copper wire.
I always wanted to replicate this with a helium balloon and a long, wet string coated with copper filings.
You'd probably need a very large balloon to overcome the weight of the string
Maybe just salt water and skip the filings?