Abstract
The observational parameters of ball lightning are given, together with an analysis of electrical processes during the origin and evolution of ball lightning. It is suggested that ball lightning formation takes place in a unipolar plasma with a high concentration of charged particles. According to the analysis such a plasma is formed as a results of electric breakdown of atmospheric air between a dust cloud and a hard surface. A comparison is made between observational ball lightning as a light source, a black body and a flame. It is shown that the luminosity of ball lightning is created by separated hot regions with a temperature of about 2000 K. Excited atoms or molecules in these regions are found in thermodynamical equilibrium with air. The waves of ball lightning luminosity spread along separated threads of the active substance of ball lightning, with some 102⋎104 threads being involved in this process. The luminisity of many points is perceived as a volume radiation of ball lightning.
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