Hi, I am the author of the theory being tested by the Brazilian work. Yes your comments about the balls being like liquid balls of molten metal are good ones, except that the observed balls are up to 40 mm in diameter, well above any molten metal balls anyone has seen. We think that these balls are much lighter, and the expected oxidation is spread throughout the ball, on small particles, in this case of silicon.
John Abrahamson, NZ
Hi I'm the author of the theory which was being tested in the Brazilian work. They have picked on the earlier version of the theory which talked about silicon, and their test seemed to work. However the extended later theory (in Trans Roy Soc 2002) included metals also as the starting materials, and not only lightning strikes as heating events.
regards
John Abrahamson
NZ
Slashdot Mirror
Hi, I am the author of the theory being tested by the Brazilian work. Yes your comments about the balls being like liquid balls of molten metal are good ones, except that the observed balls are up to 40 mm in diameter, well above any molten metal balls anyone has seen. We think that these balls are much lighter, and the expected oxidation is spread throughout the ball, on small particles, in this case of silicon. John Abrahamson, NZ
Hi I'm the author of the theory which was being tested in the Brazilian work. They have picked on the earlier version of the theory which talked about silicon, and their test seemed to work. However the extended later theory (in Trans Roy Soc 2002) included metals also as the starting materials, and not only lightning strikes as heating events. regards John Abrahamson NZ