Ball lightning is an unusual natural phenomenon. Ball lightning: the nature of its occurrence Describe the physical phenomenon of ball lightning

Ball lightning - an unusual natural phenomenon that is a luminous clot of electric current. It is almost impossible to find it in nature, even some scientists claim that it is impossible.

How does ball lightning occur?

Most experts say that ball lightning appears after a strike by ordinary lightning. Their size can be as big as a regular peach and up to the size of a soccer ball. The color of ball lightning can be orange, yellow, red or bright white. With each approach of the ball, you can hear a terrible buzzing and hissing.

The lifetime of ball lightning can reach several minutes. There is one theory that states that ball lightning is replica of a small thundercloud. Perhaps tiny specks of dust constantly exist in the air, and lightning, in turn, gives an electrical charge to the specks of dust in a specific area of the air. Some dust particles are charged negatively, and others are charged positively. Then millions of small lightning bolts connect differently charged dust particles, and then a sparkling round ball is created in the air.

Ball lightning is a fairly rare natural phenomenon.
At the moment, it is impossible to say exactly how ball lightning occurs. There are hundreds of theories that explain its appearance, but none of them have been proven.
In 1638, the appearance of ball lightning was first documented. At that time, she flew into the church during a thunderstorm.
Ball lightning can easily melt window glass.
Most often, ball lightning enters an apartment through doors and windows.
The speed of movement of this natural phenomenon can reach up to 10 meters per second.
It is assumed that the temperature in the center of the ball is thousands of degrees.

Ball lightning is a unique natural phenomenon: the nature of its occurrence; physical properties; characteristic

Today, the only and main problem in the study of this phenomenon is the lack of ability to recreate such lightning in scientific laboratories.

Therefore, most assumptions about the physical nature of a spherical electric clot in the atmosphere remain theoretical.

The first to suggest the nature of ball lightning was the Russian physicist Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa. According to his teachings, this type of lightning occurs during a discharge between thunderclouds and the earth on the electromagnetic axis along which it drifts.

In addition to Kapitsa, a number of physicists put forward theories about the core and frame structure of the discharge or about the ion origin of ball lightning.

Many skeptics argued that this was just a visual illusion or short-term hallucinations, and that such a natural phenomenon itself did not exist. Currently, modern equipment and instruments have not yet detected the radio waves necessary to create lightning.

How is ball lightning formed?

It is usually formed during a strong thunderstorm, however, it has been noticed more than once in sunny weather. Ball lightning occurs suddenly and in a single case. It can appear from the clouds, from behind trees or other objects and buildings. Ball lightning easily overcomes obstacles in its path, including getting into confined spaces. Cases are described when this type of lightning appeared from a TV, an airplane cabin, sockets, in enclosed spaces... At the same time, it can pass objects on its way, passing through them.

Repeatedly the appearance of an electrical clot was recorded in the same places. The process of movement or migration of lightning occurs mainly horizontally and at a height of about a meter above the ground. There is also a sound in the form of crunching, crackling and squeaking, which leads to interference on the radio.

According to descriptions of eyewitnesses of this phenomenon, two types of lightning are distinguished:

Characteristics

The origin of such lightning is still unknown. There are versions that an electric discharge occurs either on the surface of the lightning, or comes out of the total volume.

Scientists do not yet know the physical and chemical composition due to which such a natural phenomenon can easily overcome doorways, windows, small cracks, and again acquire its original size and shape. In this regard, hypothetical assumptions were made about the structure of gas, but such a gas, according to the laws of physics, would have to fly into the air under the influence of internal heat.

The size of ball lightning is usually 10 - 20 centimeters.
The color of the glow can usually be blue, white or orange. However, witnesses to this phenomenon report that a constant color was not observed and that it always changed.
The shape of ball lightning is in most cases spherical.
The duration of existence was estimated to be no more than 30 seconds.
The temperature has not been fully studied, but according to experts it is up to 1000 degrees Celsius.

Without knowing the nature of the origin of this natural phenomenon, it is difficult to make assumptions about how ball lightning moves. According to one theory, the movement of this form of electrical discharge can occur due to the force of wind, the action of electromagnetic oscillations, or the force of gravity.

Why is ball lightning dangerous?

Despite many different hypotheses about the nature of the occurrence and characteristics of this natural phenomenon, it is necessary to take into account that interaction with ball lightning is extremely dangerous, since a ball filled with a large discharge can not only cause injury, but also kill. An explosion can lead to tragic consequences.

The first rule that must be followed when encountering a fireball is not to panic, not to run, and not to make fast and sudden movements.
It is necessary to slowly move away from the trajectory of the ball, while keeping a distance from it and not turning your back.
When ball lightning appears in a closed room, the first thing to do is try to carefully open the window to create a draft.
In addition to the above rules, it is strictly prohibited to throw any objects into the plasma ball, as this may cause a fatal explosion.

Thus, in the Lugansk area, lightning the size of a golf ball killed a driver, and in Pyatigorsk a man, trying to brush off a luminous ball, received severe burns on his hands. In Buryatia, lightning fell through the roof and exploded in a house. The explosion was so strong that windows and doors were broken, walls were damaged, and the owners of the household were injured and concussed.

Video: 10 Facts about ball lightning

This video presents to your attention facts about the most mysterious and amazing natural phenomenon

Ball lightning- a rare natural phenomenon that looks like a luminous formation floating in the air. To date, no unified physical theory of the occurrence and course of this phenomenon has been presented; there are also scientific theories that reduce the phenomenon to hallucinations. There are many hypotheses explaining the phenomenon, but none of them has received absolute recognition in the academic environment. In laboratory conditions, similar, but short-term, phenomena were obtained in several different ways, so the question of the nature of ball lightning remains open. As of the beginning of the 21st century, not a single experimental installation has been created in which this natural phenomenon would be artificially reproduced in accordance with the descriptions of eyewitnesses of the observation of ball lightning.

It is widely believed that ball lightning is a phenomenon of electrical origin, of natural nature, that is, it is a special type of lightning that exists for a long time and has the shape of a ball capable of moving along an unpredictable trajectory, sometimes surprising to eyewitnesses.

Traditionally, the reliability of many eyewitness accounts of ball lightning remains in doubt, including:

the very fact of observing at least some phenomenon;
the fact of observing ball lightning, and not some other phenomenon;
individual details of the phenomenon given in an eyewitness account.

Doubts about the reliability of many evidence complicate the study of the phenomenon, and also create the ground for the appearance of various speculative and sensational materials allegedly related to this phenomenon.

According to eyewitnesses, ball lightning usually appears in thundery, stormy weather; often (but not necessarily) along with regular lightning. Most often, it seems to “emerge” from the conductor or is generated by ordinary lightning, sometimes it descends from the clouds, in rare cases it suddenly appears in the air or, as eyewitnesses report, can come out of some object (tree, pillar).

Due to the fact that the appearance of ball lightning as a natural phenomenon occurs rarely, and attempts to artificially reproduce it on the scale of a natural phenomenon fail, the main material for studying ball lightning is the testimony of random eyewitnesses unprepared for observations. In some cases, contemporary eyewitnesses took photographs and/or videos of the phenomenon. But at the same time, the low quality of these materials does not allow them to be used for scientific purposes.

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Phenomenon and science

Until 2010, the question of the existence of ball lightning was fundamentally refutable. As a result of this, and also under the pressure of the presence of many eyewitnesses, it was impossible to deny the existence of ball lightning in scientific publications.

Thus, in the preface to the bulletin of the RAS Commission for Combating Pseudoscience, “In Defense of Science,” No. 5, 2009, the following formulations were used:

Of course, there is still a lot of uncertainty about ball lightning: it does not want to fly into scientists’ laboratories equipped with appropriate instruments.

The theory of the origin of ball lightning, which meets Popper's criterion, was developed in 2010 by Austrian scientists Joseph Peer and Alexander Kendl from the University of Innsbruck. They published in the scientific journal Physics Letters A a proposal that evidence of ball lightning can be understood as a manifestation of phosphenes - visual sensations without exposure to light on the eye, that is, ball lightning is a hallucination.

Their calculations show that the magnetic fields of certain lightning flashes with repeated discharges induce electric fields in the neurons of the visual cortex, which appear to humans as ball lightning. Phosphenes can occur in people up to 100 meters from a lightning strike.

This instrumental observation probably means that the phosphene hypothesis is not complete.

Observation history

A great contribution to the work on observing and describing ball lightning was made by the Soviet scientist I. P. Stakhanov, who, together with S. L. Lopatnikov, published an article on ball lightning in the journal “Knowledge is Power” in the 1970s. At the end of this article he attached a questionnaire and asked eyewitnesses to send him their detailed memories of this phenomenon. As a result, he accumulated extensive statistics - more than a thousand cases, which allowed him to generalize some of the properties of ball lightning and propose his own theoretical model of ball lightning.

Historical evidence

Thunderstorm at Widecombe-in-the-Moor

On October 21, 1638, lightning appeared during a thunderstorm in the church of the village of Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Devon County, England. Eyewitnesses said that a huge fireball about two and a half meters in diameter flew into the church. He knocked several large stones and wooden beams out of the church walls. The ball then allegedly broke benches, broke many windows and filled the room with thick, dark smoke that smelled of sulfur. Then it split in half; the first ball flew out, breaking another window, the second disappeared somewhere inside the church. As a result, 4 people were killed and 60 were injured. The phenomenon was explained by the “coming of the devil”, or “hell fire” and was blamed on two people who dared to play cards during the sermon.

Incident on board the Montag

The impressive size of lightning was reported from the words of the ship's doctor Gregory in 1749. Admiral Chambers, aboard the Montag, went on deck around noon to measure the ship's coordinates. He spotted a fairly large blue fireball about three miles away. The order was immediately given to lower the topsails, but the balloon was moving very quickly, and before the course could be changed, it took off almost vertically, and being not more than forty or fifty yards above the rig, disappeared with a powerful explosion, which is described as a simultaneous salvo of a thousand guns. The top of the mainmast was destroyed. Five people were knocked down, one of them received multiple bruises. The ball left behind a strong smell of sulfur; Before the explosion, its size reached the size of a millstone.

Death of Georg Richmann The case of the ship "Warren Hastings"

One British publication reported that in 1809 the ship Warren Hastings was “attacked by three fireballs” during a storm. The crew saw one of them go down and kill a man on the deck. The one who decided to take the body was hit by the second ball; he was knocked off his feet and had minor burns on his body. The third ball killed another person. The crew noted that after the incident there was a disgusting smell of sulfur hanging over the deck.

Description in the book by Wilfried de Fonvielle “Lightning and Glow”

The book by the French author reports about 150 encounters with ball lightning: “Apparently, ball lightning is strongly attracted by metal objects, so they often end up near balcony railings, water pipes and gas pipes. They do not have a specific color, their shade can be different, for example in Köthen in the Duchy of Anhalt the lightning was green. M. Colon, deputy chairman of the Paris Geological Society, saw the ball slowly descend along the bark of a tree. After touching the surface of the ground, it jumped and disappeared without an explosion. On September 10, 1845, in the Corretse Valley, lightning flew into the kitchen of one of the houses in the village of Salagnac. The ball rolled through the entire room without causing any damage to the people there. Having reached the barn adjacent to the kitchen, it suddenly exploded and killed a pig accidentally locked there. The animal was not familiar with the wonders of thunder and lightning, so it dared to smell in the most obscene and inappropriate way. Lightning does not move very fast: some have even seen them stop, but this makes the balls cause no less destruction. The lightning that flew into the church in the city of Stralsund, during the explosion, threw out several small balls, which also exploded like artillery shells.”

Remarque in literature of 1864

In the 1864 edition of A Guide to the Scientific Knowledge of Things Familiar, Ebenezer Cobham Brewer discusses "ball lightning." In his description, lightning appears as a slow-moving fireball of explosive gas that sometimes descends to the ground and moves along its surface. It is also noted that the balls can split into smaller balls and explode “like a cannon shot.”

Other evidence

There is a reference to ball lightning in a series of children's books by author Laura Ingalls Wilder. Although the stories in the books are considered fictional, the author insists that they really happened in her life. According to this description, during a snowstorm in winter, three balls appeared near the cast-iron stove. They appeared near the chimney, then rolled along the floor and disappeared. At the same time, Carolina Ingalls, the writer’s mother, was chasing them with a broom.
On April 30, 1877, ball lightning flew into the central temple of Amritsar (India) - Harmandir Sahib. Several people observed the phenomenon until the ball left the room through the front door. This incident is depicted on the Darshani Deodi gate.
On November 22, 1894, ball lightning appeared in the city of Golden, Colorado (USA), which lasted an unexpectedly long time. As the Golden Globe newspaper reported: “On Monday night a beautiful and strange phenomenon could be observed in the city. A strong wind rose and the air seemed to be filled with electricity. Those who happened to be near the school that night could see fireballs flying one after another for half an hour. This building houses the electrical and dynamos of what is probably the best plant in the State. Apparently, last Monday, a delegation came straight from the clouds to the prisoners of the dynamos. Definitely, this visit was a great success, as was the frantic game they started together.”
In July 1907, on the west coast of Australia, the lighthouse at Cape Naturaliste was struck by ball lightning. Lighthouse keeper Patrick Baird lost consciousness, and the phenomenon was described by his daughter Ethel.

Contemporary evidence

Submariners have repeatedly and consistently reported small ball lightning occurring in the confined space of a submarine. They appeared when the battery was turned on, turned off, or incorrectly turned on, or when high-inductance electric motors were disconnected or incorrectly connected. Attempts to reproduce the phenomenon using a submarine's spare battery ended in failure and explosion.

On August 6, 1944, in the Swedish city of Uppsala, ball lightning passed through a closed window, leaving behind a round hole about 5 cm in diameter. The phenomenon was not only observed by local residents, but also the lightning tracking system of Uppsala University, which is located in the Department of Electricity and Lightning Studies, also triggered.
In 1954, physicist Tar Domokos observed lightning in a severe thunderstorm. He described what he saw in sufficient detail: “It happened on a warm summer day on Margaret Island on the Danube. It was somewhere around 25-27 degrees Celsius, the sky was quickly overcast, and a strong thunderstorm was approaching. Thunder was heard in the distance. The wind rose and it began to rain. The storm front was moving very quickly. There was nothing nearby where one could hide; nearby there was only a lonely bush (about 2 m high), which was bent by the wind towards the ground. The humidity rose to almost 100% due to the rain. Suddenly, right in front of me (about 50 meters away) lightning struck the ground (at a distance of 2.5 m from the bush). I have never heard such a roar in my life. It was a very bright channel 25-30 cm in diameter, it was exactly perpendicular to the surface of the earth. It was dark for about two seconds, and then at a height of 1.2 m a beautiful ball with a diameter of 30-40 cm appeared. It appeared at a distance of 2.5 m from the place of the lightning strike, so this point of impact was right in the middle between the ball and bush. The ball sparkled like a small sun and rotated counterclockwise. The axis of rotation was parallel to the ground and perpendicular to the line “bush - place of impact - ball”. The ball also had one or two reddish curls or tails that extended to the right back (to the north), but not as bright as the sphere itself. They poured into the ball a fraction of a second later (~0.3 s). The ball itself moved slowly and at a constant speed horizontally along the same line from the bush. Its colors were clear and its brightness was consistent across its entire surface. There was no more rotation, the movement occurred at a constant height and at a constant speed. I didn't notice any more changes in size. About three more seconds passed - the ball instantly disappeared, and completely silently, although due to the noise of the thunderstorm I might not have heard it.” The author himself suggests that the temperature difference inside and outside the channel of ordinary lightning, with the help of a gust of wind, formed a kind of vortex ring, from which the observed ball lightning was then formed.
On August 17, 1978, a group of five Soviet climbers (Kavunenko, Bashkirov, Zybin, Koprov, Korovkin) descended from the top of Mount Trapezium and stopped for the night at an altitude of 3900 meters. According to V. Kavunenko, an international master of sports in mountaineering, ball lightning of a bright yellow color the size of a tennis ball appeared in a closed tent, which for a long time moved chaotically from body to body, making a cracking noise. One of the athletes, Oleg Korovkin, died on the spot from lightning contact with the solar plexus area, the rest were able to call for help and were taken to the Pyatigorsk city hospital with a large number of 4th degree burns of unexplained origin. The incident was described by Valentin Akkuratov in the article “Meeting with a Fireball” in the January 1982 issue of the Tekhnika-Molodezhi magazine.
In 2008, in Kazan, ball lightning flew into the window of a trolleybus. The conductor, using a validator, threw her to the end of the cabin, where there were no passengers, and a few seconds later an explosion occurred. There were 20 people in the cabin, no one was injured. The trolleybus broke down, the validator got hot and turned white, but remained in working order.
On July 10, 2011, in the Czech city of Liberec, ball lightning appeared in the control building of the city emergency services. A ball with a two-meter tail jumped up to the ceiling directly from the window, fell to the floor, jumped up to the ceiling again, flew 2-3 meters, and then fell to the floor and disappeared. This frightened the employees, who smelled burning wiring and believed that a fire had started. All computers froze (but did not break), communications equipment was out of order overnight until it was repaired. In addition, one monitor was destroyed.
On August 4, 2012, ball lightning frightened a villager in the Pruzhansky district of the Brest region. As the newspaper “Rayonnaya Budni” reports, ball lightning flew into the house during a thunderstorm. Moreover, as the owner of the house, Nadezhda Vladimirovna Ostapuk, told the publication, the windows and doors in the house were closed and the woman could not understand how the fireball entered the room. Fortunately, the woman realized that she shouldn’t make any sudden movements, and just sat there, watching the lightning. Ball lightning flew over her head and discharged into the electrical wiring on the wall. As a result of the unusual natural phenomenon, no one was injured, only the interior decoration of the room was damaged, the publication reports.

Artificial reproduction of the phenomenon

Overview of Artificial Reproduction Approaches

Since the appearance of ball lightning can be traced to a clear connection with other manifestations of atmospheric electricity (for example, ordinary lightning), most experiments were carried out according to the following scheme: a gas discharge was created (the glow of gas discharges is widely known), and then conditions were sought when the luminous discharge could exist in the form of a spherical body. But researchers experience only short-term gas discharges of a spherical shape, lasting a maximum of a few seconds, which does not correspond to eyewitness accounts of natural ball lightning. A. M. Khazen put forward the idea of a ball lightning generator consisting of a microwave transmitter antenna, a long conductor and a high voltage pulse generator.

List of statements

Several claims have been made about producing ball lightning in laboratories, but these claims have generally been met with skepticism in the academic community. The question remains open: “Are the phenomena observed in laboratory conditions really identical to the natural phenomenon of ball lightning?”

Attempts at theoretical explanation

In our age, when physicists know what happened in the first seconds of the existence of the Universe, and what is happening in yet undiscovered black holes, we still have to admit with surprise that the main elements of antiquity - air and water - still remain a mystery to us.

Most theories agree that the cause of the formation of any ball lightning is associated with the passage of gases through an area with a large difference in electrical potential, which causes the ionization of these gases and their compression in the form of a ball [ ] .

Experimental testing of existing theories is difficult. Even if we consider only assumptions published in serious scientific journals, the number of theoretical models that describe the phenomenon and answer these questions with varying degrees of success is quite large.

Classification of theories

Based on the location of the energy source that supports the existence of ball lightning, theories can be divided into two classes:
- suggesting an external source;
- suggesting that the source is located inside ball lightning.

Review of existing theories

S. P. Kurdyumov’s hypothesis about the existence of localized dissipative structures in nonequilibrium media: “...The simplest manifestations of localization processes in nonlinear media are vortices... They have certain sizes, lifetime, can spontaneously arise when flowing around bodies, appear and disappear in liquids and gases in intermittency regimes close to a turbulent state. An example is solitons arising in various nonlinear media. Even more difficult (from the point of view of certain mathematical approaches) are dissipative structures... in certain areas of the medium, localization of processes in the form of solitons, autowaves, dissipative structures can take place... it is important to highlight... the localization of processes on the medium in the form of structures having a certain shape, architecture.”
Kapitza P. L conjecture. about the resonant nature of ball lightning in an external field: a standing electromagnetic wave arises between the clouds and the ground, and when it reaches a critical amplitude, an air breakdown occurs in some place (most often, closer to the ground), and a gas discharge is formed. In this case, ball lightning appears to be “strung” on the field lines of a standing wave and will move along conducting surfaces. The standing wave is then responsible for the energy supply of ball lightning. ( “... With a sufficient electric field voltage, conditions should arise for an electrodeless breakdown, which, through ionization resonance absorption by the plasma, should develop into a luminous ball with a diameter equal to approximately a quarter of the wavelength”).
Shironosov V. G. hypothesis: a self-consistent resonant model of ball lightning is proposed based on the works and hypotheses of: S. P. Kurdyumova (on the existence of localized dissipative structures in nonequilibrium media); Kapitsa P.L. (on the resonant nature of ball lightning in an external field). The resonant model of ball lightning by P. L. Kapitsa, while explaining many things most logically, did not explain the main thing - the reasons for the emergence and long-term existence of intense short-wave electromagnetic oscillations during a thunderstorm. According to the theory put forward, inside ball lightning, in addition to the short-wave electromagnetic oscillations assumed by P. L. Kapitsa, there are additional significant magnetic fields of tens of megaoersteds. To a first approximation, ball lightning can be considered as a self-stable plasma - “holding” itself in its own resonant variables and constant magnetic fields. The resonant self-consistent model of ball lightning made it possible to explain not only its many mysteries and features qualitatively and quantitatively, but also, in particular, to outline a path for the experimental production of ball lightning and similar self-stable plasma resonance formations controlled by electromagnetic fields. It is interesting to note that the temperature of such a self-contained plasma in the understanding of chaotic motion will be “close” to zero due to the strictly ordered synchronous motion of charged particles. Accordingly, the lifetime of such ball lightning (resonant system) is long and proportional to its quality factor.
A fundamentally different hypothesis is that of B.M. Smirnov, who has been studying the problem of ball lightning for many years. In his theory, the core of ball lightning is an intertwined cellular structure, something like an airgel, that provides a strong frame with low weight. Only the threads of the frame are threads of plasma, not of a solid body. And the energy reserve of ball lightning is entirely hidden in the enormous surface energy of such a microporous structure. Thermodynamic calculations based on this model, in principle, do not contradict the observed data.
Another theory explains the entire set of observed phenomena by thermochemical effects occurring in saturated water vapor in the presence of a strong electric field. The energy of ball lightning here is determined by the heat of chemical reactions involving water molecules and their ions. The author of the theory is confident that it provides a clear answer to the mystery of ball lightning.
The next theory suggests that ball lightning is heavy positive and negative air ions formed during a strike by ordinary lightning, the recombination of which is prevented by their hydrolysis. Under the influence of electrical forces, they gather into a ball and can coexist for quite a long time until their water “coat” collapses. This also explains the fact that the color of ball lightning is different and its direct dependence on the time of existence of ball lightning itself - the rate of destruction of the water “coats” and the beginning of the process of avalanche recombination.
According to another theory, ball lightning is Rydberg matter [ ] . Group L.Holmlid. is engaged in the preparation of Rydberg substance in laboratory conditions, not yet for the purpose of producing ball lightning, but mainly for the purpose of obtaining powerful electron and ion flows, using the fact that the work function of Rydberg substance is very small, a few tenths of an electron volt. The assumption that ball lightning is a Rydberg substance describes much more of its observed properties, from the ability to arise under different conditions, to consist of different atoms, to the ability to pass through walls and restore its spherical shape. They also try to explain plasmoids produced in liquid nitrogen by a Rydberg substance condensate. A ball lightning model based on spatial Langmuir solitons in a plasma with diatomic ions was used.
An unexpected approach to explaining the nature of ball lightning has been proposed over the past six years by V.P. Torchigin, according to which ball lightning is an incoherent optical spatial soliton, the curvature of which is non-zero. Translated into more accessible language, ball lightning is a thin layer of highly compressed air in which ordinary intense white light circulates in all possible directions. This light, due to the electrostrictive pressure it creates, ensures air compression. In turn, the compressed air acts as a light guide, which prevents the emission of light into free space [ ] . We can say that ball lightning is a self-limited intense light or light bubble that arose from ordinary linear lightning [ ] . Like an ordinary light beam, a bubble of light in the earth's atmosphere is displaced in the direction of the refractive index of the air in which it is located.
As for attempts to reproduce ball lightning in the laboratory, Nauer in 1953 and 1956 reported the production of luminous objects, observable properties which completely coincide with the properties of light bubbles. The properties of light bubbles can be obtained theoretically on the basis of generally accepted physical laws. The objects observed by Nauer are not affected by electric and magnetic fields, they emit light from their surface, they can bypass obstacles and retain their integrity after penetrating through small holes. Nauer assumed that the nature of these objects had nothing to do with electricity. The relatively short lifetime of such objects (a few seconds) is explained by the low stored energy due to the weak power of the electrical discharge used. As the stored energy increases, the degree of air compression in the shell of the light bubble increases, which leads to an improvement in the ability of the light guide to limit the light circulating in it and to a corresponding increase in the lifetime of the light bubble. Nauer's works represent a unique [ ] a case where experimental confirmation of a theory appeared 50 years before the theory itself.
In the works of M. Dvornikov, a model of ball lightning was developed, based on spherically symmetric nonlinear oscillations of charged particles in plasma. These oscillations were considered within the framework of classical and quantum mechanics. It was discovered that the most intense plasma oscillations occur in the central regions of ball lightning. It has been suggested that bound states of radially oscillating charged particles with oppositely oriented spins can arise in ball lightning - an analogue of Cooper pairs, which in turn can lead to the emergence of a superconducting phase inside ball lightning. Previously, the idea of superconductivity in ball lightning was expressed in works. Also, within the framework of the proposed model, the possibility of the occurrence of ball lightning with a compound nucleus was investigated.
Austrian scientists from the University of Innsbruck Josef Peer and Alexander Kendl in their work published in a scientific journal Physics Letters A, described the effects of magnetic fields generated by lightning on the human brain. According to them, in the visual centers of the cerebral cortex, so-called phosphenes arise - visual images that appear in a person when the brain or optic nerve is exposed to strong electromagnetic fields. Scientists compare this effect with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), when magnetic impulses are sent to the cerebral cortex, provoking the appearance of phosphenes. TMS is often used as a diagnostic procedure in an outpatient setting. Thus, physicists believe, when a person thinks that there is ball lightning in front of him, in fact it is phosphenes. “When someone is within a few hundred meters of a lightning strike, they may experience a white blur in their eyes for a few seconds,” explains Kendle. “This occurs under the influence of an electromagnetic pulse on the cerebral cortex.” True, this theory does not explain how ball lightning can be captured on video.
Russian mathematician M.I. Zelikin proposed an explanation of the phenomenon of ball lightning, based on the as yet unconfirmed hypothesis of plasma superconductivity. [ ]
In the work of A. M. Khazen, a model of ball lightning was developed as a plasma clot with a non-uniform dielectric constant existing in the electric field of a thunderstorm. Electric potential is described by an equation like the Schrödinger equation.

In fiction

Notes

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Ball lightning. This mysterious natural phenomenon is still very little studied. There are many cases when this clot of crushing energy enters our homes. It penetrates into the room through the slightest cracks, chimneys and even through smooth glass. Ball lightning is a fleeting phenomenon, but sometimes it can be observed within 20 seconds.

Ball lightning is considered a special type of lightning, which is a luminous fireball floating through the air (sometimes shaped like a mushroom, drop or pear).

When ball lightning enters an apartment, it behaves differently: it either goes out or “splashes” with a crash. Its sizes vary. The most common lightning is approximately 15 cm in size. But there are cases when it reaches 1 meter or more in diameter. When contacting a person, the matter usually ends tragically. But in rare cases this does not happen. Not long ago, such a contact occurred in China: surprisingly, having hit the same person twice, she did not kill him (the incident was shown on TV).

A case of such an encounter with ball lightning is described: in Zimbabwe (Africa), a young woman with such contact escaped with only the loss of her dress and hairstyle. In Pyatigorsk, a roofing worker burned his hands while trying to brush aside a small ball that seemed to be hovering above him. I had to undergo treatment for a long time, because such burns do not heal for a long time. But there are many more cases that end tragically. In the summer there was an incident when a young man who was tending public cattle in a pasture was killed. Ball lightning destroyed him along with his horse.

There have been cases where planes encounter these fireballs. But so far no deaths of the aircraft or crew have been recorded (only minor damage to the skin was noted).

What does ball lightning look like?

Ball lightning comes in different shapes: round, oval, cone-shaped, etc. The color of lightning also has a full range of colors. There are red with different shades, green, orange, white. Some types of lightning have a luminous "tail". What kind of natural phenomenon is this? Scientists say that ball lightning is a plasma clot whose temperature can be 30,000,000 degrees. This is higher than the solar temperature at its center.

Why does this happen, what is the nature of its occurrence. Observations of these “balls” appearing out of nowhere were noted - on a sunny, clear day, mysterious orange balls moved close to the surface, in a place where there were no high-voltage wires or other types of energy sources. Maybe they arise deep in the bowels of our planet, maybe in its faults. In general, this mysterious phenomenon has not yet been studied by anyone. Our scientists know more about the origin of stars than about what happens under their noses from century to century.

Types of ball lightning

Based on eyewitness accounts, there are two main types of ball lightning:

The first is red ball lightning descending from a cloud. When such a heavenly gift touches any object on earth, for example a tree, it explodes. Interesting: ball lightning can be the size of a soccer ball, it can hiss and buzz threateningly.
Another type of ball lightning travels along the earth's surface for a long time and glows with a bright white light. The ball is attracted to good conductors of electricity and can touch anything - the ground, a power line or a person.

Lifetime of ball lightning

Ball lightning lasts from several seconds to several minutes. Why does this happen?

One theory states that the ball is a small copy of a thundercloud. This is how it probably happens. There are always tiny specks of dust in the air. Lightning can impart an electrical charge to dust particles in a specific area of air. Some dust particles are charged positively, others - negatively. In a further light show lasting up to many seconds, millions of small lightning bolts connect oppositely charged dust particles, creating in the air the image of a sparkling fireball - ball lightning.

We live in the most interesting times - it’s the 21st century, high technologies are subject to human control and are used everywhere, both in scientific work and in everyday life. A set of people wishing to settle on the Red Planet is being researched and recruited. Meanwhile, today there are various mechanisms of which are still not studied. Such phenomena include ball lightning, which is of genuine interest to scientists around the world.

The first documented case of ball lightning took place in 1638 in England, in one of the churches in Devon County. As a result of the outrages of the huge fireball, 4 people were killed and about 60 were injured. Subsequently, new reports of similar phenomena periodically appeared, but there were few of them, since eyewitnesses considered ball lightning an illusion or an optical illusion.

The first generalization of cases of a unique natural phenomenon was made by the Frenchman F. Arago in the middle of the 19th century; his statistics collected about 30 pieces of evidence. The increasing number of such meetings made it possible to obtain, based on the descriptions of eyewitnesses, some characteristics inherent in the heavenly guest.

Ball lightning is an electrical phenomenon that moves in the air in an unpredictable direction, glowing, but not emitting heat. This is where the general properties end and the specifics characteristic of each case begin.

This is explained by the fact that the nature of ball lightning is not fully understood, since until now it has not been possible to study this phenomenon in laboratory conditions or to recreate a model for study. In some cases, the diameter of the fireball was several centimeters, sometimes reaching half a meter.

Photos of ball lightning fascinate with their beauty, but the impression of a harmless optical illusion is deceptive - many eyewitnesses received injuries and burns, some became victims. This happened to the physicist Richman, whose work on experiments during a thunderstorm ended in tragedy.

For several hundred years, ball lightning has been the object of study by many scientists, including N. Tesla, G. I. Babat, B. Smirnov, I. P. Stakhanov and others. Scientists have put forward different theories of the origin of ball lightning, of which there are over 200.

According to one version, the electromagnetic wave formed between the earth and the clouds reaches a critical amplitude at a certain moment and forms a spherical gas discharge.

Another version is that ball lightning consists of high-density plasma and contains its own microwave radiation field. Some scientists believe that the fireball phenomenon is the result of clouds focusing cosmic rays.

Most cases of this phenomenon were recorded before and during a thunderstorm, so the most relevant hypothesis is the emergence of an energetically favorable environment for the appearance of various plasma formations, one of which is lightning.

Experts agree that when meeting a heavenly guest, you must adhere to certain rules of behavior. The main thing is not to make sudden movements, not to run away, and try to minimize air vibrations.