Ball Lightning Research Articles

Ascent Velocity of Plasmoids Generated by Surface Discharges

The ascent velocity of long-lived plasmoids generated under atmospheric conditions to simulate ball lightning was estimated in [Fussmann et al., Phys. Unserer Zeit 39, 246 (2008) and Jegorov et al., Tech. Phys. 53, 688 (2008): Refs. 1 and 2 in the text, respectively], using a rigid sphere model with poor agreement with the experiment. The plasmoids were, however, deformed. Much better agreement is obtained using the Davies and Taylor formula, which describes the ascent velocity of large spherical-cap bubbles.

Properties of ball lightning generated by a pulsed discharge on surface of an electrolyte in the atmosphere

AbstractA simple reactor system, which involved a pulsed discharge occurring on the surface of an electrolyte in the atmosphere, was installed to generate ball lightning (BL), and BL with a lifetime of 0.5 s and a size of 250 mm maximum was observed. Meanwhile, a single current pulse with the peak value up to 90 A and full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 5–62 ms appears immediately after the system was triggered. It is concluded that such a long‐life BL is maintained without the external supply of electrical energy, since BL is visible for a significantly longer time than the current pulse duration. It is found that a power law with the scaling exponent of 2/3 can be applied between the lifetime and size of the BL, independently of the experimental conditions. Copyright © 2008 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

About the monograph by A.I. Grigor’ev entitled “Ball Lightning”

About the monograph by A.I. Grigor’ev entitled “Ball Lightning”

Could Some Ball Lightning Observations be Optical Hallucinations Caused by Epileptic Seizures?

The great difficulty of encompassing all observed features of ball lightning into a single theory makes it highly probable that many observations and experiences which have no connection to ball lightning are also categorized as ball lightning experiences. In this note we compare the eyewitness reports of ball lightning and the symptoms of epileptic seizures of the occipital lobe as described in the medical literature and show that a person experiencing such a seizure for the first time may believe that he has witnessed a ball lightning event. Since many of the ball lightning reports are associated with nearby lightning strikes, the possibility that the rapidly changing magnetic field of a close lightning strike could trigger an epileptic seizure is analyzed. The results show that the time derivative of the magnetic field in the vicinity of an intense lightning flash is strong enough to stimulate neurons in the brain. This strengthens the possibility of inducing seizures in the occipital lobe of a person located in the vicinity of lightning strikes.

Burning molten metallic spheres: One class of ball lightning?

Abrahamson and Dinniss [2000. Ball lightning caused by oxidation of nanoparticle networks from normal lightning strikes on soil. Nature 403, 519–521] proposed a theory of ball lighting in which silicon nanoparticles undergo slow oxidation and emit light. Paiva et al. [2007. Production of ball-lightning-like luminous balls by electrical discharges in silicon. Physical Review Letters 98, 048501] reported that an electric arc to silicon produced long-lasting luminous white spheres showing many characteristics of ball lightning. We show experimentally that these consist of burning molten silicon spheres with diameters in the 0.1–1 mm range. The evidence of our experiments leads us to propose that a subset of ball lightning events may consist of macro-scale molten spheres of burning metallic materials likely to be ejected from a conventional lightning strike to earth.

Properties of short-living ball lightning produced in the laboratory

An experimental setup for highly reproducible generation of artificial ball lightnings is implemented. Thousands of floating glowing plasmoids 12–20 cm in diameter are produced. Research facilities for studying the plasmoids are developed. It is found that short-lived ball lightnings live for about 1 s and carry an electric charge. The lightnings are shown to have a complex structure: a central kernel containing a rich variety of hydrated ions and aerosol of decay products is surrounded by a thin negatively charged shell.

Long-living plasmoids from an atmospheric water discharge

Ball-like plasmoids were generated from discharging a capacitor bank via a water surface. In the autonomous stage after current zero they have diameters up to 0.2 m and lifetimes of some hundreds of milliseconds, thus resembling ball lightning in some way. They were studied by applying high speed cameras, electric probes, calorimetric measurements, and spectroscopy. The plasmoids are found to consist of a true plasma surrounded by a cold envelope. Decreasing electron densities in the order of 1020–1022 m−3 were measured from Stark broadening in the initial (formation) phase. The electron temperature is estimated to be 2000–5000 K during most of the plasmoid's lifetime. The temperature of the neutral particles can exceed 1300 K. Calcium hydroxide molecular band emission is the major source of visible radiation in the autonomous phase. Chemiluminescence reactions between dissociation products of water and dissolved calcium are proposed as a source for this emission. The plasmoid's colder boundary layer consists of electric double layers that may be attributed to the characteristic shape of the balls.

Electrostatic charge bounds for ball lightning models

Several current theories concerning the nature of ball lightning predict a substantial electrostatic charge in order to account for its observed motion and shape (Turner 1998 Phys. Rep.293 1; Abrahamson and Dinniss 2000 Nature403 519). Using charged soap bubbles as a physical model for ball lightning, we show that the magnitude of charge predicted by some of these theories is too high to allow for the types of motion commonly observed in natural ball lightning, which includes horizontal motion above the ground and movement near grounded conductors. Experiments show that at charge levels of only 10–15 nC, 3-cm-diameter soap bubbles tend to be attracted by induced charges to the nearest grounded conductor and rupture. We conclude with a scaling rule that can be used to extrapolate these results to larger objects and surroundings.

Dusty fireball: Can lab‐made blob explain ball lightning?

Science NewsVolume 173, Issue 3 p. 36-36 This Week Dusty fireball: Can lab-made blob explain ball lightning? Davide Castelvecchi, Davide CastelvecchiSearch for more papers by this author Davide Castelvecchi, Davide CastelvecchiSearch for more papers by this author First published: 30 September 2009 https://doi.org/10.1002/scin.2008.5591730304AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume173, Issue319 January 2008Pages 36-36 RelatedInformation

Self-organization scenario grounded on new experimental results

Recently published experimental results proving that well-located plasma created in air by quick injection of energy naturally evolves into a coherent, apparently stable and luminous gaseous body, dubbed fireball, are explained considering a new scenario of self-organization. Bordered by a functional double layer emerged by direct conversion of thermal energy into electric field energy through a mechanism exploiting collective effects of quantum processes, the fireball survives for durations that depend on the environmental conditions. Based on this scenario of self-organization that evolves in a time span in which the second law of thermodynamics ceases to work, enigmas as the ball lightning and the origin of life becomes potentially explainable.

Theoretical investigation of the possibility of isotope separation during motion of charged particles in the electromagnetic field of a cylindrical capacitor and a linear current flowing along its axis

A characteristic feature of the trajectories of charges moving in constant axisymmetric radial electric and azimuthal magnetic fields, whose strengths are inversely proportional to the center from the symmetry axis is the exponential dependence of the turning points on the parameters of motion. This leads to a noticeable difference in the trajectories for isotope ions, which makes it possible to obtain a new method for their electromagnetic separation. The trajectories of isotopes being separated are studied theoretically. The conditions under which the trajectories are closed and form toroidal surfaces (storage vortex rings) have been determined earlier. These results are given for convenience in analyzing another problem, associated with the formation of such ionic toroidal vortex surfaces (stable in Wood’s sense) during a streak lightning discharge in the atmosphere (ball lightning model).

Is there yet an explanation of ball lightning?

A singular solution of Helmholtz equation is described, which delivers a spherical field of radiation. This field is surrounded by an infinite number of ball sockets. These spherical areas are separated by surfaces, which, by special arrangement of the field strengths, cannot be penetrated by their own radiation. A further aspect of this field is, that it does not expand with time. On the surface of the central sphere, being a characteristic of Helmholtz equation, an other solution, which is decreasing continually toward great distances, may be attached. So one receives afield of radiation, which could be used for the explanation of ball lightning. According to this theory thus ball lightning is a self-restricted field of radiation. Numerical results of the distribution of field strengths for a particular example are given and for the energy of ball lightning to be expected during thunderstorms.

Ball Lightning–Aerosol Electrochemical Power Source or A Cloud of Batteries

Despite numerous attempts, an adequate theoretical and experimental simulation of ball lightning still remains incomplete. According to the model proposed here, the processes of electrochemical oxidation within separate aerosol particles are the basis for this phenomenon, and ball lightning is a cloud of composite nano or submicron particles, where each particle is a spontaneously formed nanobattery which is short-circuited by the surface discharge because it is of such a small size. As free discharge-shorted current loops, aerosol nanobatteries are exposed to a powerful mutual magnetic dipole–dipole attraction. The gaseous products and thermal energy produced by each nanobattery as a result of the intra-particle self-sustaining electrochemical reactions, cause a mutual repulsion of these particles over short distances and prevent their aggregation, while a collectivization of the current loops of separate particles, due to the electric arc overlapping between adjacent particles, weakens their mutual magnetic attraction over short distances. Discharge currents in the range of several amperes to several thousand amperes as well as the pre-explosive mega ampere currents, generated in the reduction–oxidation reactions and distributed between all the aerosol particles, explain both the magnetic attraction between the elements of the ball lightning substance and the impressive electromagnetic effects of ball lightning.

Seeking to solve the mystery of ball lightning

Former electronic engineer Eddie Sines will never forget what he saw one stormy summer's day while staying at his grandparents' house in Maryland, US, in the early 1960s. As he watched a lightning bolt strike a transformer on a telephone pole near the house, Sines suddenly noticed a light-green luminous sphere, about the size of a tennis ball, appear on top of the transformer. Bouncing off the transformer, the ball skirted along the underside of the cable that connected the pole to the house, came off at a dip in the cable and passed straight through the window that Sines was looking through. It then hit the back wall of the room, where it made a small crackling sound and left bright trails of static electricity dancing all over the wall.

Ball lightning in the lab

Ball lightning in the lab

Spherical plasmoids formed upon the combustion and explosion of nanostructured hydrated silicon

The kinetics of the combustion and explosion of nanostructured hydrated porous silicon has been analyzed in a duration range from 100 μs to 1 s. It has been shown that the presence of hydrogen in silicon nanostructures increases the energy yield of oxidation processes leading to the formation of spherical plasmoids with a size of 0.1–0.8 m. Buoyancy in them can be compensated by the weight of the material particles formed inside and this compensation leads to a change in the velocity of plasmoids from 0.5 m/s to zero in the process of their cooling. It is hypothesized that a ball lightning appears due to the combustion and explosion of nanostructured hydrated silicon in spherical plasmoids.

Ball lightning as a self-organizing process of a plasma–plasma interface and El Naschie’s ε(∞) space–time

Abstract In the fractal space–time theories, some properties of a ball lightning (BL) are established: the oscillation regimes, the hysteresis, the distributions of the potential, field and charge etc. In such a context, the Feynman–El Naschie hypothesis on the universality of the dipole–dipole interaction is confirmed and a connection between El Naschie’s e ( ∞ ) space–time and Feigenbaum–Goldfain conjecture is given.

Production of Ball-Lightning-Like Luminous Balls by Electrical Discharges in Silicon

We performed electric arc discharges in pure Si to generate luminous balls with lifetime in the order of seconds and several properties usually reported for natural ball lightning. This simple experiment does not rely on energy sources and excitation mechanisms that are improbable in the natural phenomenon and clearly demonstrates the role of vaporization and oxidation of Si, as proposed by the Abrahamson-Dinniss theory for ball-lightning formation.

Ball Lightning Mystery Solved? Electrical Phenomenon Created in Lab

Ball Lightning Mystery Solved? Electrical Phenomenon Created in Lab

About iron globules formed at cooling of iron-contained plasma

This paper is devoted to the investigation of iron globules that are formed during cooling of the iron-carbon-helium plasma and as a result of destruction of a natural ball lightning. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and ferromagnetic resonance investigations were carried out. The magnetization values of the samplers were determined.