Researchers from Penn State have proposed a "lightning in a box" device that could simulate lightning-like reactions in a controlled laboratory setting. The device, which could fit onto a desktop, uses relatively cheap materials and could be used to study lightning like never before. This could enable scientists to study the process directly and without waiting for a natural lightning strike. However, scale scale is still a challenge, with researchers needing to determine the minimum electric fields and electron-beam intensities required to trigger the reaction. The discovery could lead to significant breakthroughs in our knowledge of how lightning works.