DOES BALL LIGHTNING EXIST?

Over the long history of the study of ball lightning, the most frequent questions were not questions about how this ball is formed or what its properties are, although these problems are quite complex. But most often the question was posed: "Does ball lightning really exist?" This persistent skepticism is largely due to the difficulties encountered in attempts to experimentally study ball lightning using existing methods, as well as the lack of a theory that would give a sufficiently complete or at least satisfactory explanation of this phenomenon.

Those who deny the existence of ball lightning explain the reports about it by optical illusions or by mistaken identification of other natural luminous bodies with it. Cases of the possible appearance of ball lightning are often attributed to meteors. In some cases, the phenomena described in the literature as ball lightning, apparently, were indeed meteors. However, meteor trails are almost invariably observed as straight lines, while the path characteristic of ball lightning, on the contrary, is most often curved. Further, ball lightning appears, with very rare exceptions, during thunderstorms, while meteors were observed in such conditions only by chance. An ordinary lightning discharge, the direction of the channel of which coincides with the line of sight of the observer, may seem like a ball. The result can be an optical illusion - the blinding light of the flash remains in the eye as an image, even when the observer changes the direction of the line of sight. That is why it has been suggested that the false image of the ball appears to be moving along a complex trajectory.

In the first detailed discussion of the problem of ball lightning, Arago (Dominique François Jean Arago is a French physicist and astronomer who published the first detailed work in the world scientific literature on ball lightning, summarizing the 30 observations of eyewitnesses collected by him, which marked the beginning of the study of this natural phenomenon) touched upon this issue. In addition to a series of seemingly reliable observations, he noted that an observer who sees the ball dropping at a certain angle from the side cannot have an optical illusion like the one described above. Arago's arguments, apparently, seemed quite convincing to Faraday: rejecting theories according to which ball lightning is an electrical discharge, he emphasized that he by no means denied the existence of these spheres.

50 years after the publication of Arago's review of the problem of ball lightning, it was again suggested that the image of ordinary lightning moving directly towards the observer would persist for a long time, and Lord Kelvin in 1888, at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, argued that ball lightning was it is an optical illusion created by bright light. The fact that in many reports the same dimensions of ball lightning were named has been attributed to the fact that this illusion is associated with a blind spot in the eye.

A discussion between supporters and opponents of these points of view took place at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in 1890. The topic of one of the reports presented to the Academy was the numerous luminous spheres that appeared in a tornado and resembled ball lightning. These glowing spheres flew into houses through chimneys, punched round holes in windows, and generally displayed very unusual properties attributed to ball lightning. After the report, one of the members of the Academy noted that the amazing properties of ball lightning, which were discussed, should be taken critically, since observers, apparently, have become victims of optical illusions. In a heated discussion, the observations made by uneducated peasants were declared not worthy of attention, after which the former Emperor of Brazil - a foreign member of the Academy - who was present at the meeting, declared that he had also seen the fireball.

Many reports of natural luminous spheres were explained by the fact that observers mistaken for ball lightning the lights of St. Elma. Lights of St. Elmo is a relatively often observed luminous region formed by a corona discharge at the end of a grounded object, say, a pillar. They occur when the strength of the atmospheric electric field increases significantly, for example, during a thunderstorm. In especially strong fields, which are often found near mountain peaks, this form of discharge can be observed on any object towering above the ground, and even on the hands and heads of people. However, if we consider the moving spheres as the lights of St. Elm, then we must assume that the electric field is continuously moving from one object, which plays the role of a discharge electrode, to another similar object. They tried to explain the message that such a ball was moving over a row of firs by the fact that a cloud with a field associated with it passed over these trees. Supporters of this theory considered St. Elma and all the other glowing orbs that separated from their original attachment point and flew through the air. Since a corona discharge necessarily requires an electrode, the separation of such balls from the grounded tip indicates that we are talking about some other phenomenon, possibly a different form of discharge. There are several reports of fireballs, which were initially located on the tips, which played the role of electrodes, and then freely moved in the manner described above.

In nature, other luminous objects have been observed, which are sometimes mistaken for ball lightning. For example, the nightjar is a nocturnal insectivorous bird, to the feathers of which glowing rot from the hollow in which it nests sometimes adhere, flies in zigzags over the ground, swallowing insects; from some distance it can be mistaken for ball lightning.

The fact that ball lightning may turn out to be something different in any particular case is a very strong argument against its existence. A major researcher of high voltage currents once noticed that, for many years observing thunderstorms and taking panoramic photographs of them, he had never seen ball lightning. In addition, when talking with alleged eyewitnesses of ball lightning, this researcher was always convinced that their observations could have a different and well-grounded interpretation. The constant resurgence of such arguments underscores the importance of detailed and reliable observations of ball lightning.

Most often, the observations on which knowledge about ball lightning is based were questioned because these mysterious balls were seen only by people who did not have any scientific training. This opinion turned out to be completely wrong in practice. The appearance of ball lightning was observed from a distance of only a few tens of meters by a scientist, an employee of a German laboratory studying atmospheric electricity; The lightning was also observed by an employee of the Tokyo Central Meteorological Observatory. Ball lightning was also witnessed by a meteorologist, physicists, chemist, paleontologist, director of the meteorological observatory and several geologists. Among scientists of various specialties, ball lightning was more often seen and astronomers reported about them.

In very rare cases, when ball lightning appeared, the eyewitness managed to get pictures. These photographs, as well as other information related to ball lightning, have often received insufficient attention.

The collected information convinced the majority of meteorologists that their skepticism was unfounded. On the other hand, there is no doubt that many scientists working in other fields take a negative point of view, both due to intuitive skepticism and due to the unavailability of data on ball lightning.

Ball lightning is one of the most amazing and dangerous natural phenomena. How to behave and what to do when meeting with her, you will learn from this article.

What is ball lightning

Surprisingly, modern science finds it difficult to answer this question. Unfortunately, no one has yet been able to analyze this natural phenomenon using precise scientific instruments. All attempts by scientists to recreate it in the laboratory have also failed. Despite a lot of historical data and eyewitness accounts, some researchers completely deny the very existence of this phenomenon.

Those fortunate enough to survive the encounter with the electric ball give conflicting testimonies. They claim to have seen a sphere 10 to 20 cm in diameter, but describe it differently. According to one version, ball lightning is almost transparent, through which the outlines of surrounding objects are even guessed. According to another, its color varies from white to red. Someone says that he felt the heat emanating from the lightning. Others did not notice any warmth from her, even when they were in the immediate vicinity.

Chinese scientists were lucky to record ball lightning using spectrometers. Although this instant lasted one and a half seconds, the researchers were able to conclude that it differs from ordinary lightning.

Where does ball lightning appear

How to behave when meeting her, because a fireball can appear anywhere. The circumstances of its formation are very different and it is difficult to find a definite pattern. Most people think that lightning can only be encountered during or after a thunderstorm. However, there is ample evidence that it appeared in dry, cloudless weather. It is also impossible to predict where the electric ball might form. There were cases when it arose from the voltage network, a tree trunk and even from the wall of a residential building. Eyewitnesses saw how lightning appeared on its own, met it in open areas and indoors. Also in the literature, cases are described when ball lightning occurred after an ordinary strike.

How to behave

If you are "lucky" to encounter a fireball in an open area, you must adhere to the basic rules of behavior in this extreme situation.

• Try to slowly move a considerable distance from the dangerous place. Do not turn your back to the zipper and do not try to run away from it.
• If she is close and moving towards you, freeze, stretch your arms forward and hold your breath. After a few seconds or minutes, the ball will go around you and disappear.
• Never throw objects at it, as lightning will explode on impact.

Ball lightning: how to be saved if it appears in the house?

This plot is the most frightening, as an unprepared person can panic and make a fatal mistake. Remember that the electrical sphere responds to any movement of air. Therefore, the most universal advice is to recommend staying still and calm. What else can you do if ball lightning has flown into your apartment?

• What if it is near your face? Blow on the balloon and it will fly off to the side.
• Do not touch iron objects.
• Freeze, do not make sudden movements and do not try to flee.
• If there is an entrance to an adjacent room nearby, then try to hide in it. But do not turn your back on the zipper and try to move as slowly as possible.
• Do not try to drive it away with any object, otherwise you risk provoking a violent explosion. In this case, you face such serious consequences as cardiac arrest, burns, injury and loss of consciousness.

How to help the victim

Remember that lightning can cause very serious injury or even death. If you see that a person is injured by her blow, then urgently take action - move him to another place and do not be afraid, since there will be no charge left in his body. Put it on the floor, wrap it up and call an ambulance. In case of cardiac arrest, give him artificial respiration before the doctors arrive. If the person is not badly hurt, put a wet towel on his head, give two analgin tablets and soothing drops.

How to protect yourself

How to protect yourself from ball lightning? The first step is to take steps to keep you safe during a normal thunderstorm. Remember that most of the time people suffer from electrical shock while outdoors or in the countryside.

• How to escape from ball lightning in the forest? Don't hide under lonely trees. Look for a short grove or underbrush. Remember that lightning rarely strikes conifers and birches.
• Do not hold metal objects (forks, shovels, guns, fishing rods and umbrellas) over your head.
• Don't hide in a haystack or lie down on the ground - better squat down.
• If a thunderstorm catches you in your car, stop and do not touch metal objects. Remember to lower the antenna and drive away from tall trees. Stop by the side of the road and do not enter a gas station.
• Remember that quite often a thunderstorm goes against the wind. Ball lightning moves in the same way.
• How to behave in the house and should you worry if you are under a roof? Unfortunately, the lightning rod and other devices are not able to help you.
• If you are in the steppe, then squat down, try not to rise above the surrounding objects. You can take cover in a ditch, but leave it as soon as it starts to fill with water.
• If you are sailing in a boat, do not get up under any circumstances. Try to get to the shore as quickly as possible and get a safe distance from the water.

• Remove jewelry from yourself and set it aside.
• Disconnect your cell phone. If it works, then ball lightning can be attracted to the signal.
• How to save yourself from a thunderstorm if you are in the country? Close the windows and chimney. It is not yet known whether glass is a barrier to lightning. However, it has been noticed that it seeps easily into any crevices, sockets or electrical appliances.
• If you are at home, close the windows and turn off electrical appliances, do not touch anything metal. Try to stay away from power outlets. Do not make telephone calls and disconnect all external antennas.

Ball lightning - what is it

All over the world, scientists have shown interest in ball lightning for a long time. Over a century and a half of their scientific study, dozens of conceivable and inconceivable hypotheses have been put forward to explain the nature of such a phenomenon. It is often identified with such an anomalous atmospheric phenomenon as UFOs. This is just the case when they try to explain one incomprehensibility to another ... We will try to touch this mystery of nature too.

It is not difficult to imagine what horror our distant ancestors could experience when meeting such an incomprehensible and frightening phenomenon. The first mention of ball lightning in Russian archives is a vivid example of this. 1663 - one of the monasteries received a "denunciation from priest Ivanische" from the village of Novye Ergi, which said: "... fire fell on the ground in many courtyards, and on the paths, and in mansions, like towers of grief, and people ran from him , and he skated after them, and did not burn anyone, and then climbed up into the cloud. "

In ancient times, myths and legends presented ball lightning in a variety of guises. More often she was depicted as monsters with fiery eyes or as a form that guards the entrance to hell. At times he goes out for a walk on the surface of the earth. Meeting him brings grief, and sometimes Cerberus leaves behind charred remains. The well-known Serpent Gorynych from fairy tales is from this series.

On the banks of the Vakhi River (Tajikistan) there is a mysterious high mound made of rounded stones. Scientists claim that it appeared at the time. But local folklore from generation to generation passes on the legend about the fiery underground kingdom and those living there. From time to time they appear at the top of the mound, surrounded by the "black glow" and the smell of sulfur. These demons are always described as a huge dog with burning eyes.

English folklore is full of stories of "ghost dogs spewing fire from their mouths."

There is the first documentary evidence of ball lightning from the time of the Roman Empire. The ancient manuscripts describe the events of 106 BC. BC: “Giant red crows appeared over Rome. They carried hot coals in their beaks, which fell down and set fire to houses. Half of Rome was on fire. "

There is documentary evidence of this kind of phenomena in medieval France and Portugal. Magicians and alchemists, from Paracelsus to the enigmatic Dr. Toralba, have looked for ways to gain power over the spirits of fire.

Almost all peoples of the world have myths and legends about fire-breathing dragons and similar evil spirits. This cannot be explained by simple ignorance. There were scientists interested in this topic. Large-scale studies were carried out, and the conclusion was quite unambiguous: many myths, tales, legends are quite possibly based on real events. All this looks like evidence of some mysterious natural phenomena. The presence of a glow, the ability to penetrate material objects and explosion hazard - why not "tricks" of ball lightning?

Ball lightning encounters

A group of enthusiasts led by the Moscow electrical engineer S. Martyanov became interested in an unusual phenomenon near Pskov. In a quiet place of the Pskov region. there is the so-called Devil's Glade. In summer and autumn, according to the stories of the local population, there are so many mushrooms in those places that even a scythe. However, the old-timers bypass this place, and visitors will definitely be told about a strange black creature with burning eyes and a fiery mouth.

Here is how S. Martyanov described his impressions of visiting the Chertova Polyana: “It was there that a mysterious black ball rolled out of the bushes at me. I was literally stunned: flashes of fire ran across its surface. There was a huge puddle of rainwater nearby. The dark object sparkled and hissed across the puddle. A thick cloud of steam rose into the air, and a loud bang was heard. After that, the ball instantly disappeared, as if it had fallen through the ground. There was only withered grass on the ground ”.

S. Martyanov tried to find a solution to this natural phenomenon. His research group included theoretical physicist A. Anokhin. On the next visit to the Chertova Polyana, several electrical devices were taken that are capable of registering powerful electrical discharges. The sensors were placed around the clearing and began to watch. A few days later, the instrument arrows shuddered and went sharply to the right. In the middle of the clearing, a crimson flame flared up, which soon extinguished. But suddenly "something dark gray" emerged from the ground. The black color of the ball is by no means a curiosity, since scientists have long ago recorded dark ball lightning. Then continuous miracles began.

The ball began to behave like a sentient being - it walked around the entire clearing in a circle, alternately burning out the sensors there. An expensive video camera and a tripod melted, and “something dark gray” returned to the center of the clearing and was sucked into the ground like blotting paper. The members of the expedition were still in a state of shock for a long time. The riddle was haunted. Ball lightning is known to occur most often during thunderstorms, but the weather was perfect that day.

A possible solution to this mysterious phenomenon was suggested by A. Anokhin. Scientists have known for a long time such a fact that thunderstorms also occur underground. In different regions of the Earth, fractures of the crystalline rocks of the earth's surface constantly exist or appear unexpectedly. During deformation, high-power electric potentials appear in crystals and a piezoelectric effect takes place. Probably underground lightning strikes the surface.

In the western part of Novosibirsk, near the Tokhmachevo airport and in the area of ​​the Krasny Prospekt metro station, fire objects have been observed for several years. They have a diameter from several centimeters to several meters, appear at different heights, and sometimes burst right out of the ground. Geologists attribute this phenomenon to the fracture of crystalline rocks.

Researchers who study ball lightning often affectionately call them "balls" or "koloboks".

1902 - a curious incident occurred on the Estonian island of Saaremaa. 9-year-old Mihkel Myatlik walked with friends along the shores of Lake Kaali. Suddenly, a mysterious creature appeared in front of them - a small gray ball "no more than a span in diameter", which silently rolled along the path. The boys wanted to catch him, but, forcing him to run after them, the "kolobok" disappeared into the roadside bushes. The search led nowhere.

The famous Russian writer Maxim Gorky became an eyewitness to this unusual phenomenon. While resting in the Caucasus with A.P. Chekhov and V.M. Vedeneev, he watched as "the ball hit the mountain, tore off a huge rock and burst with a terrible crash."

In the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" dated July 5, 1965, an article "The Fiery Guest" was published. It contained a description of the behavior of ball lightning with a diameter of 30 cm, observed in Armenia: “Having circled around the room, the fireball penetrated through the open door into the kitchen, and then flew out the window. Ball lightning hit the ground in the courtyard and exploded. Fortunately, no one was hurt. "

The mysterious properties of ball lightning can also be judged by the case with the Oryol artist V. Lomakin. 1967, July 6 - working in his workshop, at 13.30 he saw a creature covered with wool, with two dark brown eyes, very slowly crawling out of the wall with a rustle reminiscent of the rustle of book sheets. The length of its body was about 20 cm, on the sides there was a kind of wings.

Having flown a little more than a meter from the wall, the creature hit the ruler with which the artist was working and disappeared. On the floor V. Lomakin saw a ball that looked like a ball of twine. The surprised artist bent down to pick it up and throw it away, but found only a thick cloud of gray. In a second, it dissolved.

1977, November 20 - at about 19.30 on the highway not far from Palanga, engineer A. Bashkis was driving his "Volga" with passengers. They saw how an irregularly shaped ball about 20 cm in size, slowly swimming, crossed the highway. Above the "bun" was black, and at the edges - red-brown. The car passed over him, and the "creature" turned in the other direction and continued on its way.

1981 - retired colonel A. Bogdanov saw fireball over Chistoprudny Boulevard. A dark brown ball, 25-30 cm in diameter, suddenly heated up and exploded, stunning numerous passers-by.

In the town of Mytishchi, near Moscow, in March 1990, two female students, returning to a hostel, encountered a mysterious dark crimson ball. He slowly floated through the air, half a meter from the ground. Arriving at the hostel, they saw the same ball on the windowsill. Frightened, the girls crawled headlong under the blankets, the ball at this time began to decrease in size and changed color. When they dared to look out, nothing was there.

1993, October 9 - "Youth newspaper of Karelia" also published an article about the mysterious ball. Mikhail Voloshin lived in Petrozavodsk in a private house. For some time now, a small ball with a diameter of 7 to 10 cm began to appear here, it moved absolutely silently and arbitrarily changed its direction. Always disappeared suddenly, in the morning.

In the same year, a curious incident occurred with a resident of Ussuriysk M. Barentsev. On the Shlotovsky plateau, near the cliff, he saw small spherical fog clots rolling along the ground. One of them suddenly began to grow, from it appeared clawed paws and a mouth with bared teeth. A sharp headache pierced M. Barentsev, and the ball returned to its original size and disappeared.

In the summer of the same year, engineers from St. Petersburg had a chance to encounter ball lightning. The husband and wife rested in a tent on the banks of the river. Vuoksy. A thunderstorm was approaching, and the couple decided to bring some things into the tent. And then, in the middle of the trees, they noticed a flying ball, behind which a thick foggy train stretched. The object moved towards the river parallel to the bank. Then it turned out that their transistor receiver was out of order, and the husband's electronic clock was broken.

There is earlier evidence of this mysterious phenomenon in Western sources of information. During a thunderstorm on April 14-15, 1718, three fireballs with a diameter of more than one meter were seen in French Cuenion. In 1720, during a thunderstorm, a strange ball fell to the ground in a small French town. Recoiling, he hit a stone tower and destroyed it. In 1845, on the Rue Saint-Jacques in Paris, a fireball penetrated a workman's room through a fireplace. The gray lump moved randomly around the room, after climbing up the chimney it exploded.

The Daily Mail (England) of November 5, 1936 published a note about ball lightning. A witness reported that he saw a red-hot ball descending from the sky. He hit the house, damaging the telephone wires. A wooden window frame caught fire, and the "ball" disappeared into a barrel of water, which then began to boil.

The crew of the US Air Force KS-97 cargo plane experienced several unpleasant minutes. 1960 - at an altitude of almost 6 km, an uninvited guest appeared on board. A luminous round object about a meter in size has penetrated the aircraft cockpit. He flew between the crew members and just as suddenly disappeared.

Tragic encounters with ball lightning

However, a meeting with ball lightning does not always pass without consequences for a person.

Lomonosov's assistant, Russian scientist G.V. Rikhman died in 1752, struck in the head by ball lightning that appeared from a broken conductor from a lightning rod.

The tragic incident took place in Tucumari, New Mexico, in 1953. Fireball flew into a large reservoir of water and exploded there. As a result, several houses were destroyed and four people died.

1977, July 7 - Two large luminous balls descend into the territory of an open-air cinema in Fujiang province (China). Two teenagers were killed, and about 200 more people were injured in the panic.

A group of Soviet climbers high in the Caucasus mountains was attacked by fireball. 1978, August 17 - a bright yellow glowing ball flew into the tent to the sleeping athletes. Moving around the camp, he burned sleeping bags and attacked people. The wounds were much more serious than simple burns. One climber was killed, the rest were seriously injured. The results of the examination of the athletes baffled the doctors. The muscle tissue of the victims was burned to the very bones, as if a welding machine had worked here.

1980 - in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), the appearance of a luminous ball also led to a tragedy. Several houses burned down, the ball chased people, setting fire to their clothes.

In the "Literary Gazette" for December 21, 1983, the explosion of ball lightning is described. Local residents worked in the mountain valley. A huge cloud appeared in the sky, as if glowing from within. Rain poured down, and people rushed to the mulberry tree for cover. But there was already a fireball. She literally scattered people in different directions, many fainted. As a result, three people died.

What is ball lightning?

The list of tragic consequences of encounters with ball lightning can be continued, but let's try to figure it out - what kind of phenomenon is ball lightning? Scientists have calculated that about 44,000 thunderstorms rage on Earth every day, and up to 100 lightning strikes the earth every second. But these are, as a rule, ordinary linear lightning, the mechanism of which is well studied by specialists. Conventional lightning is a type of electrical discharge that occurs when high voltages are applied between different parts of a cloud or between a cloud and the ground. The rapid heating of ionized gas leads to its expansion - this is a sound wave, that is, thunder.

But no one has yet been able to give an unambiguous explanation of what ball lightning is. According to the researchers, it will require the efforts of specialists in various fields of science, ranging from quantum physics to inorganic chemistry. At the same time, there are clear signs by which ball lightning can be separated from other natural phenomena. Descriptions of various theoretical models of ball lightning, laboratory studies, thousands of photographs enable scientists to determine many parameters and characteristic properties of such a phenomenon.

1. First, why were they called spherical? The overwhelming majority of eyewitnesses say they saw the ball. However, there are also other forms - a mushroom, pear, drop, torus, lens, or simply shapeless foggy clots.

2. The color scheme is very diverse - lightning can be yellow, orange, red, white, bluish, green, from gray to black. By the way, there is a lot of documentary evidence that it can be of an inhomogeneous color or is capable of changing it.

3. The most typical size of ball lightning is from 10 to 20 cm. Sizes from 3 to 10 cm and from 20 to 35 cm are less common.

4. At the expense of temperature, the opinions of experts differ. Most often, 100-1000 degrees Celsius is mentioned. Lightning can melt glass by flying through a window.

5. Energy density is the amount of energy per unit volume. Ball lightning has a record one. The catastrophic consequences that we sometimes observe make it impossible to doubt this.

6. The intensity and time of the glow fluctuate from a few seconds to several minutes. Ball lightning can shine like a regular 100 W bulb, but sometimes it can dazzle.

7. It is widely believed that ball lightning floats, rotating slowly, at a speed of 2-10 m / sec. It will not be difficult for her to catch up with the running man.

8. Lightning usually ends its visits with an explosion, sometimes breaks up into several parts or simply fades away.

9. The most difficult thing to explain is the behavior of ball lightning. She is not stopped by obstacles, she loves to enter houses through windows, vents and other openings. There is evidence of its passage through the walls of houses, trees and stones.

It is noticed that she is partial to sockets, switches, contacts. Once in water, ball lightning can quickly bring it to a boil. Moreover, the balls burn and melt everything that can be encountered on their way. But there were also completely amazing cases when lightning burned linen, leaving outer clothing. She shaved off all the hair from the person, pulled metal objects out of her hands. At the same time, the man himself was thrown over great distances.

There was a case when ball lightning melted into a common ingot all the coins in the wallet without damaging the paper money. Being an intense source of electromagnetic microwave radiation, it is capable of disabling telephones, televisions, radios and other devices where there are coils and transformers. Sometimes he does unique "tricks" - rings disappeared from their fingers when they met ball lightning. Low-frequency radiation has a bad effect on the human psyche, hallucinations, headaches, and a feeling of fear appear. We talked about the tragic encounters with ball lightning above.

The emergence of ball lightning

Let's consider the most typical hypotheses of the origin of this mysterious natural phenomenon. True, it should be immediately noted that the stumbling block is the lack of a reliable method for the reproducible production of ball lightning under controlled laboratory conditions. Experiments do not give unambiguous results. Researchers studying this "something" cannot claim that they are studying the ball lightning itself.

The most common were chemical models, now they were replaced by "plasma theories", according to which the energy of tectonic stresses of the earth's interior can be released not only through earthquakes, but also in the form of electrical discharges, electromagnetic radiation, linear and ball lightning, as well as plasmoids - clots concentrated energy. German physicist A. Meissner is an adherent of the theory according to which ball lightning is a ball of hot plasma revolving madly due to some initial impulse given to the bunch by linear lightning.

During the Great Patriotic War, the famous Soviet electrical engineer G. Babat carried out experiments on high-frequency currents and, unexpectedly for himself, reproduced ball lightning. So another hypothesis appeared. Its essence lies in the fact that the centripetal forces, striving to break the fireball into pieces, are opposed by the forces of attraction appearing at a high speed of rotation between the stratified charges. But even this hypothesis is not able to explain the duration of the existence of ball lightning and its grandiose energy.

Academician P. Kapitsa did not stay away from this problem. He believes that ball lightning is a volumetric oscillatory circuit. Lightning captures radio waves that occur during lightning discharges, that is, it receives energy from the outside.

François Arago was also a supporter of the chemical model of ball lightning. He believed that during the discharge of an ordinary linear lightning, burning balls of gas or some kind of explosive mixtures appear.

The well-known Soviet theoretical physicist J. Frenkel believed that ball lightning is a formation caused by the creation of gaseous chemically active substances during an ordinary lightning strike. They burn in the presence of catalysts in the form of smoke and dust particles. But science does not know substances with such a colossal calorific value.

B. Parfenov, an employee of the Research Institute of Mechanics of Moscow State University, believes that ball lightning is a toroidal current shell and an annular magnetic field. When they interact, air is pumped out of the inner cavity of the ball. If electromagnetic forces tend to break the ball, then the air pressure, on the contrary, tries to crush it. If these forces are balanced, then the ball lightning will acquire stability.

From purely scientific hypotheses, which remain so, let's move on to more accessible, and sometimes naive versions.

A supporter of a rather original assumption about the origin of ball lightning is the researcher of anomalous phenomena Vincent H. Gaddis. He believes that, on Earth, for a long time, in parallel with the protein form of life, there is another one. The nature of this life (let's call it elementals) is similar to the nature of ball lightning. Fire elementals are creatures of alien origin, and their behavior speaks of a certain intelligence. They can take on a wide variety of forms if desired.

Physicochemist from Maryland David Turner has devoted several years to the study of ball lightning. He suggested that such supernatural phenomena as and are associated with ball lightning. These mysteries are based on similar electrical and chemical processes. But in laboratory conditions, they have not yet been able to confirm this assumption.

Attempts have long been made to link the UFO phenomenon with ball lightning. However, they all turned out to be untenable - the sizes, duration of existence, forms and energy saturation of these two phenomena are too different.

There are supporters of even more original versions of the origin of ball lightning. In their opinion, they are just ... an optical illusion. Its essence lies in the fact that with a strong flash of linear lightning due to photochemical processes, an imprint in the form of a spot remains on the retina of the human eye. The vision can last for 2-10 seconds. The inconsistency of this hypothesis is refuted by hundreds of real photographs of ball lightning.

We have considered only some hypotheses and theories concerning such a mysterious phenomenon as ball lightning. You can accept them or not accept them, agree with them or reject them, but none of them has yet been able to fully explain the riddle of strange "koloboks", and therefore tell a person how to behave when meeting this natural phenomenon.

Where does ball lightning come from and what is it? Scientists have been asking themselves this question for many decades in a row, and so far there is no clear answer. A stable plasma ball resulting from a powerful high frequency discharge. Another hypothesis is antimatter micrometeorites.
In total, there are more than 400 unproven hypotheses.

… A barrier with a spherical surface can arise between matter and antimatter. Powerful gamma radiation will inflate this ball from the inside, and prevent the penetration of matter to the alien antimatter, and then we will see a luminous pulsating ball that will hover over the Earth. This point of view seems to have received confirmation. Two British scientists methodically scanned the sky with gamma-ray detectors. And they registered four times the abnormally high level of gamma radiation in the expected energy range.

The first documented case of the appearance of ball lightning took place in 1638 in England, in one of the churches of the County of Devon. As a result of the atrocities of a huge fireball, 4 people died, about 60 were injured. Subsequently, new reports of such phenomena periodically appeared, but there were few of them, since eyewitnesses considered the ball lightning to be an illusion or an illusion of sight.

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 testimonies. The increasing number of such meetings made it possible to obtain, based on the descriptions of eyewitnesses, some characteristics inherent in a heavenly guest. Ball lightning is an electrical phenomenon, a fireball moving in the air in an unpredictable direction, glowing, but not emitting heat. This is where the general properties end and the particulars characteristic of each of the cases begin. This is due to 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 it reached half a meter.

For several hundred years, ball lightning has been the object of study by many scientists, including N. Tesla, G. I. Babat, P. L. Kapitsa, B. Smirnov, I. P. Stakhanov and others. Scientists have put forward various theories of the origin of ball lightning, of which there are more than 200. According to one version, the electromagnetic wave formed between the earth and the clouds at a certain moment reaches a critical amplitude and forms a ball-shaped 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 the focusing of cosmic rays by clouds. Most cases of this phenomenon were recorded before a thunderstorm and during a thunderstorm, therefore, the hypothesis of the emergence of an energetically favorable environment for the appearance of various plasma formations, one of which is lightning, is considered the most relevant. The opinions of experts agree that when meeting with a heavenly guest, you need to adhere to certain rules of behavior. The main thing is not to make sudden movements, not to run away, to try to minimize air vibrations.

Their "behavior" is unpredictable, the trajectory and speed of flight defies any explanation. They, as if endowed with intelligence, can bend around obstacles in front of them - trees, buildings and structures, or they can "crash" into them. After this collision, fires may occur.

Ball lightning often flies into people's homes. Through open vents and doors, chimneys, pipes. But sometimes even through a closed window! There is a lot of evidence of how CMM melted window glass, leaving behind a perfectly even round hole.

According to eyewitnesses, fireballs appeared from the socket! They “live” from one to 12 minutes. They can just disappear instantly without leaving any traces behind, but they can also explode. The latter is especially dangerous. These explosions can result in fatal burns. It was also noticed that after the explosion, a rather persistent, very unpleasant smell of sulfur remains in the air.

Fireballs come in a variety of colors, from white to black, yellow to blue. When moving, they often hum like the hum of high voltage power lines.

It remains a big mystery what affects the trajectory of its movement. It is definitely not the wind, as it can move against it. This is not an atmospheric difference. These are not people or other living organisms, since sometimes it can peacefully fly around them, and sometimes it "crashes" into them, which leads to death.

Ball lightning is evidence of our very unimportant knowledge of such a seemingly ordinary and already studied phenomenon as electricity. None of the hypotheses put forward so far have explained all of her quirks. What is proposed in this article may not even be a hypothesis, but only an attempt to describe the phenomenon in a physical way, without resorting to exotic things like antimatter. The first and main assumption: ball lightning is a discharge of ordinary lightning that has not reached the Earth. More precisely: ball and linear lightning are one process, but in two different modes - fast and slow.
When switching from a slow mode to a fast one, the process becomes explosive - ball lightning turns into linear lightning. The reverse transition of linear lightning to ball lightning is also possible; In some mysterious, or perhaps accidental way, this transition was carried out by the talented physicist Richman, a contemporary and friend of Lomonosov. He paid for his luck with his life: the fireball he received killed its creator.
Ball lightning and an invisible atmospheric charge path connecting it to the cloud are in a special state of "elma". Elma, unlike plasma - low-temperature electrified air - is stable, cools down and spreads very slowly. This is due to the properties of the boundary layer between elma and ordinary air. Here charges exist in the form of negative ions, bulky and inactive. Calculations show that elms spread out in as much as 6.5 minutes, and they are replenished regularly every thirty of a second. It is through such a time interval that an electromagnetic pulse passes in the discharge path, which replenishes Kolobok with energy.

Therefore, the duration of the existence of ball lightning is, in principle, unlimited. The process should stop only when the charge of the cloud is exhausted, more precisely, the "effective charge" that the cloud is able to transfer to the track. This is how the fantastic energy and relative stability of ball lightning can be explained: it exists due to the influx of energy from the outside. So neutrino phantoms in Lem's science fiction novel "Solaris", possessing the materiality of ordinary people and incredible strength, could exist only when colossal energy came from the living Ocean.
The electric field in ball lightning is close in magnitude to the breakdown level in the dielectric, which is called air. In such a field, the optical levels of atoms are excited, which is why ball lightning glows. In theory, weak, non-luminous, and therefore invisible ball lightning should be more frequent.
The process in the atmosphere develops in the mode of ball or linear lightning, depending on the specific conditions in the route. There is nothing incredible, rare in this duality. Let's remember the usual combustion. It is possible in the regime of slow flame propagation, which does not exclude the regime of a rapidly moving detonation wave.

... Lightning descends from the sky. It is not yet clear what it should be, ball or ordinary. It greedily sucks the charge out of the cloud, and the field in the track decreases accordingly. If, before hitting the Earth, the field in the track falls below a critical value, the process will switch to the ball lightning mode, the track will become invisible, and we will notice that the ball lightning is descending to the Earth.

In this case, the external field is much less than the own field of ball lightning and does not affect its movement. That is why bright lightning moves erratically. Ball lightning glows weaker between flashes, its charge is small. The movement is now directed by the external field and therefore rectilinear. Ball lightning can be carried by the wind. And it's clear why. After all, the negative ions of which it consists are the same air molecules, only with electrons attached to them.

The rebound of ball lightning from the near-earth "trampoline" layer of air is simply explained. When ball lightning approaches the Earth, it induces a charge in the soil, begins to release a lot of energy, heats up, expands and quickly rises under the action of Archimedean force.

Ball lightning plus the Earth's surface form an electrical capacitor. It is known that a capacitor and a dielectric are mutually attracted. Therefore, ball lightning tends to position itself above dielectric bodies, which means that it prefers to be above wooden walkways, or above a barrel of water. The long-wave radio emission associated with ball lightning is generated by the entire path of ball lightning.

Fireball hiss are caused by bursts of electromagnetic activity. These bursts follow at a frequency of about 30 hertz. The hearing threshold of the human ear is 16 hertz.

Ball lightning is surrounded by its own electromagnetic field. Flying past an electric light bulb, it can inductively heat up and burn out its spiral. Once in the wiring of the lighting, radio broadcasting or telephone network, it closes its entire route to this network. Therefore, during a thunderstorm, it is advisable to keep the networks grounded, say, at discharge gaps.

Ball lightning, "spreading" over a barrel of water, together with the charges induced in the ground, constitutes a capacitor with a dielectric. Ordinary water is not an ideal dielectric; it has significant electrical conductivity. A current begins to flow inside such a capacitor. The water is heated by Joule heat. The well-known "keg experiment" was when ball lightning heated about 18 liters of water to a boil. According to theoretical estimates, the average power of ball lightning when it freely hovers in the air is approximately 3 kilowatts.

In exceptional cases, for example, under artificial conditions, an electrical breakdown may occur inside the ball lightning. And then plasma appears in it! At the same time, a lot of energy is released, artificial ball lightning can shine brighter than the Sun. But usually the power of ball lightning is relatively low - it is in the state of elma. Apparently, the transition of artificial ball lightning from the state of elma to the state of plasma is, in principle, possible.

Knowing the nature of the electric Kolobok, you can make it work. Artificial ball lightning can greatly surpass natural lightning in power. By tracing an ionized trace in the atmosphere with a focused laser beam along a given trajectory, we will be able to direct the ball lightning where necessary. Now let's change the supply voltage, switch the ball lightning to linear mode. Giant sparks will obediently rush along the path chosen by us, crushing rocks, felting trees.

There is a thunderstorm over the airfield. The airport is paralyzed: landing and take-off of aircraft is prohibited ... But a start button is pressed on the control panel of the lightning dissipation system. A fiery arrow shot up from the tower near the airfield to the clouds. This artificial controlled ball lightning, which rose above the tower, switched to the linear lightning mode and, rushing into a thundercloud, entered it. The lightning path connected the cloud with the Earth, and the electric charge of the cloud was discharged to the Earth. The process can be repeated several times. There will be no more thunderstorms, the clouds have been discharged. Airplanes can land and take off again.

In the Arctic, it will be possible to light up an artificial sun. A three-hundred-meter charge track of artificial ball lightning rises from a two-hundred-meter tower. Ball lightning is switched to plasma mode and shines brightly from a half-kilometer height above the city.

For good illumination in a circle with a radius of 5 kilometers, ball lightning, emitting a power of several hundred megawatts, is sufficient. In an artificial plasma regime, such power is a solvable problem.

The Electric Gingerbread Man, who for so many years shied away from close acquaintance with scientists, will not leave: sooner or later he will be tamed, and he will learn to benefit people. B. Kozlov.

1. What is ball lightning is still not known for certain. Physicists have not yet learned how to reproduce real ball lightning in the laboratory. Of course, they get something, but how much this “something” is similar to real ball lightning - scientists do not know.

2. When there is no experimental data, scientists turn to statistics - to observations, eyewitness accounts, rare photographs. In fact, rare: if there are at least one hundred thousand photographs of ordinary lightning in the world, then there are much fewer photographs of ball lightning - only six to eight dozen.

3. The color of ball lightning is different: red, and dazzling white, and blue, and even black. Witnesses saw fireballs in all shades of green and orange.

4. As the name suggests, all lightning should be ball-shaped, but no, both pear-shaped and egg-shaped were observed. Particularly lucky observers were lightning in the form of a cone, ring, cylinder, and even in the form of a jellyfish. Someone saw a white tail behind the lightning.

5. According to the observations of scientists and eyewitness accounts, ball lightning can appear in the house through a window, door, stove, even just appear out of nowhere. It can also be blown out of an electrical outlet. Outdoors, ball lightning can emerge from a tree and a pillar, descend from clouds, or be born from ordinary lightning.

6. Usually ball lightning is small - fifteen centimeters in diameter or the size of a soccer ball, but there are also five-meter giants. Ball lightning does not live long - usually no more than half an hour, it moves horizontally, sometimes rotating at a speed of several meters per second, sometimes it hangs motionless in the air.

7. Ball lightning shines like a hundred-watt light bulb, sometimes crackles or beeps, and usually induces radio interference. Sometimes it smells like nitrogen oxide or the hellish smell of sulfur. If you're lucky, it will quietly dissolve into the air, but more often it explodes, destroying and melting objects and evaporating water.

8. “... A red-cherry spot is visible on the forehead, and a thunderous electric force came out of it from the legs into the boards. The feet and toes are blue, the shoe is torn, not burnt ... ". This is how the great Russian scientist Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov described the death of his colleague and friend Richman. He was still worried “so that this case would not be interpreted against the increments of sciences,” and he was right in his fears: in Russia, the study of electricity was temporarily banned.

9. In 2010, Austrian scientists Josef Pier and Alexander Kendl of the University of Innsbruck suggested that the evidence for ball lightning could be interpreted as a manifestation of phosphenes, that is, visual sensations without exposure of the eye to light. Their calculations show that the magnetic fields of certain lightning bolts with repetitive discharges induce electric fields in the neurons of the visual cortex. Thus, fireballs are hallucinations.
The theory was published in the scientific journal Physics Letters A. Now, supporters of the existence of ball lightning must register ball lightning with scientific equipment, and thus refute the theory of Austrian scientists.

10. In 1761, ball lightning penetrated the church of the Vienna Academic College, tore off the gilding from the eaves of the altar column and deposited it on a silver sprinkler. People have a much harder time: at best, ball lightning will burn. But it can also kill - like Georg Richman. So much for a hallucination!

Ball lightning is a so-called plasma clot that forms during thunderstorms. But the true nature of the formation of these fireballs does not allow scientists to come up with a sound explanation for the unexpected and very frightening effects that are usually formed when ball lightning occurs.

The appearance of the "devil"

For a long time, people believed that the mythical deity Zeus was behind the eruption of thunder and lightning. But the most mysterious were precisely ball lightning, appearing extremely rarely and suddenly evaporating left only the most terrible stories of their origin.

The first occurrence of ball lightning was evidenced in the description of one of the most tragic incidents that happened on October 21, 1638. Ball lightning at high speed through the window literally flew into the church of the village "Widcombe Moore". Eyewitnesses were told that a sparkling fireball more than two meters in diameter, still incomprehensible to them, somehow knocked out a couple of stones and wooden beams by force from the church walls.

But the ball did not stop there. Further, this fireball broke the wooden benches in half, and also broke many windows and after that smoked the room with the smell of some kind of sulfur with a thick smoke. But the local residents who came to the church for the divine service were in for another not very pleasant surprise. The ball stopped for a few seconds and then split into two parts, two fireballs. One, of which, flew out the window, and the other disappeared into the premises of the church.

After the incident, four people died, and about sixty villagers were badly injured. This incident was called "the coming of the devil", in which the parishioners were blamed for playing cards during the sermon.

Horror and fear

Ball lightning does not always have a spherical shape, you can also find oval, drop-shaped and rod-shaped ball lightning, the size of which can be from a few centimeters to several meters.

Small ball lightning is often observed. In nature, you can find ball lightning red, yellow-red, completely yellow, in rare cases white or green. Sometimes ball lightning behaves quite meaningfully, floating in the air, and sometimes it can stop abruptly for no reason, and then forcefully hit any object or person and be completely discharged into it.

Many eyewitnesses claim that during flight, the fireball emits a quiet, perceptible sound, similar to a hiss. And the appearance of ball lightning, as a rule, is accompanied by the smell of ozone or sulfur.

It is strictly forbidden to touch ball lightning! Such cases ended in severe burns and even loss of human consciousness. Scientists claim that this incomprehensible natural phenomenon can even kill a person with its electric discharge.

In 1753, physics professor Georg Richmann died from ball lightning during an experiment with electricity. This death shocked everyone and made them wonder what ball lightning really is and why does it even occur in nature?

Witnesses often notice that when they see ball lightning, they feel a sense of terror, which, in their opinion, ball lightning inspires them. After meeting this fireball on its way, eyewitnesses experience a feeling of depression and severe headaches, which may not go away for a very long time and no painkillers help.

Scientists' experience

Scientists have come to the conclusion that ball lightning has no similarities with ordinary lightning, since they can be observed in clear dry weather, including in the winter season.

There are many theoretical models that describe the very origin and evolution of ball lightning itself. Today there are more than four hundred of them.

The main difficulty of these theories is that all theoretical models are recreated using various experiments, only with some restrictions. If scientists begin to equate an artificially created environment with a natural one, then they get only a certain "plasmoid" that lives for a couple of seconds, but no more, and natural ball lightning lives for half an hour, while constantly moving, freezing, chasing people in a completely for an incomprehensible reason, and also passes through walls and may even explode, so the model and reality are still far from each other.

Assumption

Scientists have found out that in order to find out the truth, you need to catch and conduct a thorough study of ball lightning directly in the open field, soon the desire of scientists came true. On July 23, 2012, in the late evening time, the fireball was caught using two spectrometers, which were installed directly on the Tibetan plateau. Physicists from China who carried out the study were able to fix for a few seconds the glow that was emitted by a real ball lightning.

Scientists were able to make an incredible discovery: in comparison with the spectrum of a simple lightning familiar to the human eye, in which there are mainly lines of ionized nitrogen, the spectrum of natural ball lightning, as it turned out, is completely saturated with veins of iron, as well as calcium and silicon. All of these elements act as the main constituents of the soil.

Scientists have come to the conclusion that inside the ball lightning there is a process of combustion of soil particles that were thrown into the air by a simple thunderstorm.

At the same time, Chinese researchers say that the secret of the phenomenon has been revealed prematurely. Suppose that in the center of the ball lightning itself, particles of soil are burnt. How is the ability of ball lightning to pass through walls or the impact on people with the help of emotions explained? Incidentally, there have been cases when ball lightning appeared directly inside submarines. How, then, can this be explained?

All this is still shrouded in mystery, and even scientists have not been able to explain the phenomenon of ball lightning for many years or even centuries. Will this riddle remain unsolved by the scientific world?