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Ball lightning: weird, mysterious, perplexing, and deadly
The strange phenomenon of ball lightning appears during thunderstorms and has been known to break through windows, with nasty results.
Instances of ball lightning—glowing, electric orbs in the sky—have captivated and mystified us for centuries. The bizarre phenomenon, also known as globe lightning, usually appears during thunderstorms as a floating sphere that can range in color from blue to orange to yellow, disappearing within a few seconds. It's sometimes accompanied by a hissing sound and an acrid odor.
Is ball lightning real?
One of the first recorded sightings of ball lightning occurred in 1638, when a "great ball of fire" came through the window of an English church. That and other early accounts suggest that ball lightning can be deadly.
At least one study has theorized that about half of all ball lightning sightings are hallucinations caused by the magnetic fields during storms. That said, scientists seem to agree ball lightning is real, even if they don't yet fully understand what causes it.
Researchers from Lanzhou, China's Northwest Normal University inadvertently recorded a ball lightning event while studying a 2012 thunderstorm using video cameras and spectrometers. The ball appeared just after a lightning strike and traveled horizontally for about 10 meters (33 feet). The spectrometer detected silicon, iron, and calcium in the ball, all of which were also present in the local soil.
What causes ball lightning?
The Lanzhou researchers' paper supports the theory that ball lightning results from a ground strike that creates a reaction between oxygen and vaporized elements from the soil. This ionized air, or plasma, is the same condition that enables St. Elmo's Fire, the stationary glow that is sometimes confused with ball lightning.
The presence of glass may generate ball lightning, according to another theory published in 2012. Atmospheric ions could pile up at the surface of a window, producing enough of an electrical field on the other side to generate a discharge. Another study, published in 2016, suggests that microwave radiation produced when lightning strikes the ground could become encapsulated in a plasma bubble, resulting in ball lightning.
Ball lightning has also been associated with earthquakes. The rare flashes of light sometimes seen around earthquakes can take many forms: bluish flames that appear to come out of the ground at ankle height; quick flashes of bright light that resemble regular lightning strikes, except they originate from the ground instead of the sky; and the floating orbs known as ball lightning. In a 2014 study of earthquake lights, researchers concluded that certain rocks tend to release electrical charges when a seismic wave hits, sparking colorful displays of light.
But despite all these investigations and lab experiments, ball lightning still refuses to be pinned down. Scientists say they have much to learn about the mysterious phenomenon.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/ball-lightning
TTT, I think was toco / matura side.aaron17 wrote:Hey ..i know this is farfetch , but around 1990 and later on a tv news station ...ttt or tv6. Close to the end of the news broadcast, they had filmed an event on a beach in the night sky showing a ball of light moving like crazy . Anybody remember that event? And when they reported that...the news was over.
I doubt anybody remember this. Maybe it was at the height of ufo and roswell craze for the time...idk
Goes further back than Columbus daysmaj. tom wrote:Ball lightning: weird, mysterious, perplexing, and deadly
The strange phenomenon of ball lightning appears during thunderstorms and has been known to break through windows, with nasty results.
Instances of ball lightning—glowing, electric orbs in the sky—have captivated and mystified us for centuries. The bizarre phenomenon, also known as globe lightning, usually appears during thunderstorms as a floating sphere that can range in color from blue to orange to yellow, disappearing within a few seconds. It's sometimes accompanied by a hissing sound and an acrid odor.
Is ball lightning real?
One of the first recorded sightings of ball lightning occurred in 1638, when a "great ball of fire" came through the window of an English church. That and other early accounts suggest that ball lightning can be deadly.
At least one study has theorized that about half of all ball lightning sightings are hallucinations caused by the magnetic fields during storms. That said, scientists seem to agree ball lightning is real, even if they don't yet fully understand what causes it.
Researchers from Lanzhou, China's Northwest Normal University inadvertently recorded a ball lightning event while studying a 2012 thunderstorm using video cameras and spectrometers. The ball appeared just after a lightning strike and traveled horizontally for about 10 meters (33 feet). The spectrometer detected silicon, iron, and calcium in the ball, all of which were also present in the local soil.
What causes ball lightning?
The Lanzhou researchers' paper supports the theory that ball lightning results from a ground strike that creates a reaction between oxygen and vaporized elements from the soil. This ionized air, or plasma, is the same condition that enables St. Elmo's Fire, the stationary glow that is sometimes confused with ball lightning.
The presence of glass may generate ball lightning, according to another theory published in 2012. Atmospheric ions could pile up at the surface of a window, producing enough of an electrical field on the other side to generate a discharge. Another study, published in 2016, suggests that microwave radiation produced when lightning strikes the ground could become encapsulated in a plasma bubble, resulting in ball lightning.
Ball lightning has also been associated with earthquakes. The rare flashes of light sometimes seen around earthquakes can take many forms: bluish flames that appear to come out of the ground at ankle height; quick flashes of bright light that resemble regular lightning strikes, except they originate from the ground instead of the sky; and the floating orbs known as ball lightning. In a 2014 study of earthquake lights, researchers concluded that certain rocks tend to release electrical charges when a seismic wave hits, sparking colorful displays of light.
But despite all these investigations and lab experiments, ball lightning still refuses to be pinned down. Scientists say they have much to learn about the mysterious phenomenon.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/ball-lightning
Where you from? Never seen a candlefly aka lahbail?aaron17 wrote:This is the latest clip I know of a ball.. from 3:03
st7 wrote:looked like a hadouken tbh
matr1x wrote:The sleeper has awakened
-dune
That looks like a sandworm
redmanjp wrote:the cloud is meant to hide the ufo duh
stev wrote:well if that's the UFO....death by snu snu it is!!!!!!!
that's one small step for a man....one giant **** for mankind
stev wrote:quote="DMan7"]Watch and be ENLIGHTENED!
edit: nevermind....troll is troll
Duane 3NE 2NR wrote:UFO-like cloud forms in Turkey
Screenshot 2023-01-20 at 1.06.41 PM.jpg
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-64352634
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