2 PhD's on Laboratory experiments on the fundamentals of lightning

Despite the huge impact of lightning, its fundamental properties are still very poorly understood. Within this project we will build an infrastructure of carefully designed laboratory experiments in a novel physical regime, that will provide the conditions required to understand lightning phenomena. You will use this to answer some of the major open questions in lightning and high voltage discharge research. You will provide major scientific breakthroughs to answer the questions on how lightning is initiated or how the so-called leaders and streamers emit energetic radiation (X-rays).

The experiments will be unique in the world, due to the large chamber with up to 90 cm long discharges, its highly controlled atmosphere, and its accompanying pulse source surpassing existing experiments by orders in voltage risetime and amplitude (up to 700 kV).

This research is part of the ERC Consolidator Grant project Bottled Lightning, which in total comprises four PhD positions and two PostDocs, as well as a large investment in equipment. This project is embedded in the PI-group of Sander Nijdam, called 'Extreme non-equilibrium plasmas', while most activities will be located in the Electrical Energy Systems lab at TU/e.

This research is mostly curiosity-driven. You will expose new physical phenomena and thereby lead to great insights and uses: for the lightning community, validation of simulations and theories and understanding of lightning radio emissions, and for high voltage engineers tools to improve their devices.