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Ball Lightning Explained?

Posted by Roblimo on from the interesting-phenomena dept.

Anonymous Coward sent it in: a BBC story that says, "Two New Zealand scientists think they can explain one of the great mysteries of the natural world - ball lightning."

9 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. Good slashdot article... by pb · · Score: 4

    Slashdot scientists discovered the origin of ball lightning while attempting to overclock their new Athlons to 1Ghz without proper cooling mechanisms.

    "...and then I gave it the juice, man, and it was like, this huge cloud of fire and stuff passing through my case, and I said 'Whoa, Stovetop, did you do that?', and Stovetop said 'No, man, maybe it was the silicon', and I said 'Thats stupid', but then Stovetop said 'I think thats the same as ball lightning', and I said 'that would hurt, man', and Stovetop got pissed at me and left and wrote up a paper and got famous and stuff, and all I have is this charred motherboard and stuff."
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    pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.

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    pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.
  2. Make your own ball lightning.... by Arcanix · · Score: 5
    This link has lots of info on ball lightning and you can even get instructions on how to create your very own ball lightning, woohoo! ;)

    Ball Lightning

  3. Fun stuff! by ninjaz · · Score: 4

    That theory says ball lighting could move through windows and doors because they may have cracks in them seems like a bit of a gloss-over. What about passing through airplanes? I'm aware that select flights feature holes ripped in the body of the airplane, but still. ;) Of course, the eye-witnesses could be lying...

    1. Re:Fun stuff! by Desperado · · Score: 4

      I too wonder how it can appear in airplanes. A few years ago I was in a DC-10 late one night circling DFW waiting to get a slot to land during a severe thunderstorm. I, and other passengers, saw ball lightening float down the aisle between our seats and exit the rear bulkhead of the aircraft. Where it went after that I have no idea. Scared the *** out of me.

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      If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space.
    2. Re:Fun stuff! by ninjaz · · Score: 5
      With the help of Google, I found this article in Scientific American about ball lightning/St. Elmo's Fire: http://www.sciam.com/askexper t/physics/physics35.html

      According to it, St. Elmo's Fire always stays attached to an object, while ball lightning can "drift around like a soap bubble".

      Another page with lots of Ball Lightning resources is here: http://www.sciam.com/askexper t/physics/physics30.html

  4. Isn't that when.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4

    Isn't that what happens when you're only wearing socks and you drag your feet on the carpet and then bring your crotch too close to a door knob?

  5. Tomorrow's Jon Katz article by Amphigory · · Score: 5
    Scientists were shocked yesterday at the discovery of two lonely geeks in New Zealand. These geeks, working alone for years, finally explained the existence of ball lightning, thereby removing the last barrier to a new age where geeks will rule the earth.

    Religious leaders around the world were knocked on their antiquated rear-ends at the news. Finally, it has been proved beyond a doubt that a phenomenon mistaken by three ignorant peasants in France in the 14th century for the prescence of God was in fact just a ball of silicon! Religious leaders around the world will no longer be able to oppress people with their narrow-minded, antiquated ideas about right and wrong based on these putative sightings of deity.

    Dare we hope that this will finally usher in the end of religion? That we can have an age based on stark individualism and rampant materialism? That silicon will finally defeat the oppressors that have held we^H^H (oops -- too grammatical) us geeks down for millenia?

    One thing is sure: nothing can ever be the same now that we have explained a rare meterological phenomenon! (Interesting article. BTW, I saw ball lightning once -- no, I didn't think it was God. But it was one of the freakiest things I've ever seen. Let the moderation begin!)

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    -- Slashdot sucks.
  6. Other non-bogus theories by Animats · · Score: 4
    Ball lightning was observed by multiple observers in an airplane cabin in 1969. See New Scientist for a cite, and a 1998 theory involving "crossed magnetic loops". But nobody can get "crossed magnetic loops" to happen experimentally.

    It's frustrating. Despite much high-voltage engineering work, nobody has created ball lightning. GE used to have a large outdoor test facility in Ohio powerful enough to create full-scale lightning bolts, and they couldn't make ball lightning. There are some antenna towers that get hit by lightning hundreds of times a year, and have all their lightning hits recorded, yet ball lightning hasn't been seen there.

  7. Possible sighting of 'silicon lightning' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5
    I may have seen the phenomenon described in the article [details below], but -- and this is important -- it was definitely not ball-shaped.

    Nor would there be any reason to expect the phenomena described inn the article to be ball shaped. The best that can be said is that it could concievably sometimes manifest in the manner described by the ball lightning reports.

    My sighting fits how I'd expect a silicon dustball (or if you prefer: 'clustering microspheres of condensed silicon vapor') to behave... namely much like the 'carbon' dustballs (dust bunnies) they themselves used as analogies in the article

    DESCRIPTION:
    It was in 1977, while I was doing a go/no-go test of a batch of 10A (junk surplus) silicon full-wave rectifiers of 1960's vintage. My test rig was an AC plug hastily wired to four 'pin' sockets, two neon bulbs and two high voltage diodes -- plugged into what I thought was a circuit-breaker protected outlet. (the circuit breaker was later found to be shorted 'on')


    About halfway through the batch (100% pass rate), a rectifier failed dramatically, producing a sight that has mystified me for 20+ years. I have always described it as a 'bright 4-7 cm strikingly violet plasma-like flame' that shot out of the hole blown in the side of rectifier.

    • Its shape was irregular and (very) roughly conical or pyramidal, with the apex at the hole in the rectifier (described below), and the 'base' extending outward. The base had very spiky rough flame-like projections, but they did not move appreciably, unlike the irregular flames from a bunsen burner with a flame spreader
    • It had a distinct quivering nature (low frequency, amplitude of 4-8mm)
    • It had the kind of optical diffuseness that I recently saw in a display of highly fluorescent aerogels (often described as 'frozen smoke)
    • It had definite borders, but they looked out-of-focus (in retrospect: perhaps high frequency vibration with amplitude if ca 1-2mm?)
    • Its volume and shape appeared to remain constant for the 45 or so seconds I watched it (then curiosity got the better of me, and I switched off the power to see if it would return
    • with the power off, I could see that the silicon junction (a few mm rectangle) was nearly completely vaporized, with the remaining silicon, the metal contacts and the hole in the plastic casing showing distinctly molten edges. the hole was a characteristic 'ejection crater'
    • There was a scrap of very lint-like 'ash' on my bench, which I didn't examine further (alas) believing it was burned casing.


    In short: a quivering bit 'o' silicon lint glowing
    in a striking beautiful violet

    Since this occurred in a normal atmosphere, at room temperature (low humidity - that room was always dry in winter), I'm guessing others have seen similar displays. any other reports?