Someone explain BALL LIGHTNING?

[Rusty Heap]

Dear fellow Evil Geniuses for a better tomorrow..........

'Splain this to me.


BALL LIGHTNING.


Regular Lightning obviously happens from Cloud Friction and Static charging that when reaches enough potential voltage to spark and ground itself to the Earth.



So how does a round static charge, hold it's Voltage state, and light a ball of plasma that can move, while still grounding to these railroad tracks?


ball lightning
atmospheric phenomenon

Also known as: globe lightning, lightning ball
Written and fact-checked by
Last Updated: Apr 27, 2024 • Article History
Also called: globe lightning
Related Topics: thunderstorm lightning
Ball lightning, a rare aerial phenomenon in the form of a luminous sphere that is generally several centimetres in diameter. It usually occurs near the ground during thunderstorms, in close association with cloud-to-ground lightning. It may be red, orange, yellow, white, or blue in colour and is often accompanied by a hissing sound and distinct odour. It normally lasts only a few seconds, usually moving about and then vanishing suddenly, either silently or explosively. Ball lightning has been reported to cause damage by burning or melting but is usually harmless. 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. Sometimes bead lightning is mistaken for ball lightning. Bead lightning is most apparent when the current in a cloud-to-ground flash persists for an appreciable fraction of a second. In these cases, the luminosity also persists and the channel may have regions of enhanced luminosity that resemble a string of beads.


cool video on facebook.


https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=463743376062145&rdid=gMTWsULl1ogMaoXc

[stevej37]

[RobFrost]

I'm no expert but I'm pretty good at physics and I'd guess the electricity is flowing through a lot of gas all around, but that little sphere happens to get hot and its resistance increases. As a consequence that ball becomes a focus of heat generation.

Another possibility is that two opposing planes have a potential difference between them. It may be that the shortest path for the electricity is the shape of two opposing pyramids with their points touching, one of them upside down. The focus of current where the points of the pyramids meet heats up due to the current per square inch being so high.

Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk

[GH85Carrera]

My dad said the C-47 he was flying was struck with lightning, maybe from two bolts. He said a ball of lightning rolled down the fuselage and hit the instrument panel between himself and the co-pilot. He said all the electronics were fried and they had no radios and only a compass to guide them. The hydraulics had to be pumped up by hand, and they landed with no causalities.

He said if he had not seen it, he would not believe it.

[Skytrooper]

In 1988, my brother in law and I were enjoy a few beers while sitting in my garage. It was during a thunder and lightning storm. All of a sudden we both, at the same time, saw this bright ball coming at us quick about 3 feet above the ground. It was just milliseconds before it shot right between us into the garage. It knocked a couple things off the back wall, but it was gone. There was a pronounce ozone smell/ odor immediately. I had heard of ball lightning (being in aviation for many years) , but had never seen it until that day. That memory will stick with me forever.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

cool video on facebook.


https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=463743376062145&rdid=gMTWsULl1ogMaoXc

These days you can't trust ANY video on the 'Net. Maybe that video is real, maybe not. I don't know.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Skytrooper

In 1988, my brother in law and I were enjoy a few beers while sitting in my garage. It was during a thunder and lightning storm. All of a sudden we both, at the same time, saw this bright ball coming at us quick about 3 feet above the ground. It was just milliseconds before it shot right between us into the garage. It knocked a couple things off the back wall, but it was gone. There was a pronounce ozone smell/ odor immediately. I had heard of ball lightning (being in aviation for many years) , but had never seen it until that day. That memory will stick with me forever.

I can understand that.

[GH85Carrera]

As we all know, lightning is a frighting thing up close. Back when we were kids living on Maxwell, AFB in Alabama we would often ride our bikes on the golf course cart paths when the golf course was closed. One day the course was closed due to thunderstorms in the area. We saw a heavy squall of rain coming so we took cover in one of the many shelters on the course there for lightning protection. It was much like a open bus stop, with a lightning rod on the top. We were still getting a little wet from blowing rain, when all of a sudden all of the hair on our heads stood on end, and in a brilliant blast of light and noise the lightning rod just a few feet from our heads was hit. We were all virtually deaf from the boom, and blinded from the flash.

I never want to be that close to lightning ever again.

[Dixie]

Surely you've heard thunder is just God bowling?
Well, ball lightning is just God's bowling ball, duh.
... And you're welcome.

[pmax]