Is it possible to harness electricity out of thin air?

Question

I mean there is so much Lightning on Earth there must be a way to harness it

Answer 1

yes it is you should check out tesla

Answer 2

Well, I think you answered your own question. But I think that there isn't enough funding to go towards green living and energy although you do get some but not a lot of tax credits from the U.S. Government. But more importantly, the episode of Mythbusters with the "Free Energy" section proves that with the current technology, it would be extremely expensive.

Answer 3

Yes, you can use the potential difference found across the atmospheric boundry layer to drive a small engine.  I have done this in the past, but it is pretty much a toy as there is just not enough power available to do much work.  You need a very tall antenae, I used a wire hooked to a large helium balloon.  A word of warning to anyone who wants to try this.  The potential across a 200 foot elevation difference is enough to knock you down on a clear day, and it can deliver a fatal shock during a thunderstorm (Ben Franklin was lucky, others were killed trying to duplicate his experiment).  If you don't know how to work safely with electricity, best not to try this.

Answer 4

Not if there's no electricity in the air...

Well, maybe if you electrically charged the air.

Answer 5

Well yes, climb to the highest point you can find during a storm, ie church steeple or big tree, and pray, lol, please don't do that I'm joking.  it's a good question with about 1800 storms on earth at any one time, I think you would need  some infrastructure underground, probably be cheaper to land on pluto. good luck, gary

Answer 6

Check the source link for a very creative idea to do so

Answer 7

Ben Franklin thought it worked, so if sparky made it work 250 years ago, so can we.

Answer 8

Ask Dr. Frankenstein, very interesting , in my opinion centrifugal force could possibly do it ,how is beyond my education level.