Ball lightning | Electric Discharge, Plasma & Atmospheric Electricity (2024)

FAQs

What is the mystery of the ball lightning? ›

Vaporized silicon hypothesis

This hypothesis suggests that ball lightning consists of vaporized silicon burning through oxidation. Lightning striking Earth's soil could vaporize the silica contained within it, and somehow separate the oxygen from the silicon dioxide, turning it into pure silicon vapor.

Ball lightning has simultaneously captured people's imagination and circumvented a clear scientific explanation for centuries. Although we don't understand it, it's not actually uncommon to see ball lightning—some statistics state that its occurrence rate is the same as regular lightning strikes.

Its causes and its relation to common lightning are not known, but among the suggested explanations are: air or gas behaving abnormally, high-density plasma phenomena, an air vortex containing luminous gases, and microwave radiation trapped within a plasma bubble.

Lightning is a natural phenomenon formed by electrostatic discharges through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions, either both in the atmosphere or one in the atmosphere and one on the ground, temporarily neutralizing these in a near-instantaneous release of an average of between 200 megajoules and 7 ...

"Lightning ball" is a popular term used to describe a rare phenomenon in which a sphere of plasma, or ionized gas, is observed during a thunderstorm. While this phenomenon has been documented, scientists are still studying it and have not yet developed a complete explanation for it.

The theories Liu Cixin explores and builds on are awesome, but the story just wasn't told in a way that kept my interest. I couldn't wait for the book to be over and would have DNF'ed it had I not loved his other books so much. I give it 3 stars solely for the imaginative ideas, not the story-telling.

Lightning is a very strong jolt of electricity, creating glowing gas particles called plasma that light up the night sky.

The balls of light typically happen during thunderstorms and may have led, in very rare cases, to burn injuries or deaths. “In my opinion, there are probably multiple causes for what's described as ball lightning,” Uman said.

Its lifetime varies widely, ranging from a few seconds to several minutes; the average duration is about 25 seconds. The lifetime of ball lightning tends to increase with size and decrease with brightness. Balls that appear distinctly orange and blue seem to last longer than average.

Currently, it is well established that Ball Lightning (BL) can penetrate through window glass, sometimes destroying them, but in most cases leaving them intact. A damage, if any, is local in nature and is in that region, through which BL penetrated.

Can ball lightning be weaponized? ›

While there have been reports of ball lightning causing damage, there is no scientific evidence or established understanding to suggest that it can be reliably created or used as a weapon against ships, aircraft, or people.

Sprites. These weird little bursts of lightning are almost as mystical as the imaginary creatures of fairy tales. Sprites are red, jellyfish-shaped bursts of electricity that dance above thunderstorms, which start as balls of light that then begin to stream downward.

Additionally, the lightning seen in thunderstorms is another form of plasma. Lightning is caused by electricity traveling through the air and ionizing the areas it travels through, creating a great conductor path.

Spider lightning refers to long, horizontally traveling flashes often seen on the underside of stratiform clouds. Spider lightning is often linked to +CG flashes.

They postulate that balls of light known as ball lightning, which are occasionally reported during thunder and lightning storms, could often be hallucinations arising from lightning electromagnetic pulses affecting the brains of close observers.

noun. : a rare form of lightning consisting of luminous balls that may move along solid objects or float in the air.

Ball Lightning (2004)

But it's nonetheless a tasty introduction to the Three Body Problem universe, minus the aliens. It follows Chen, who, after witnessing his parents' death by ball lightning, dedicates his life to unravelling this phenomenon.

For explanation, there isn't any as of yet. Although there are a lot of probable theories ranging from the ball of lightning being a microwave cavity to primordial microscopic black holes that pass though earth's atmosphere sometimes.