Cases of ball lightning, namely glowing balls in the sky - mystified and fascinated us for centuries. Strange phenomenon, also known as the Earth's lightning usually appears during a thunderstorm as a floating sphere, whose color can vary from blue to orange or yellow, disappearing within several seconds. Sometimes this is accompanied by a hiss and a pungent smell of sulfur.
Lightning in general - is an electric discharge caused by an imbalance of positive and negative within themselves or between clouds storm clouds and the ground. Lightning flash can heat the air around it to a temperature in excess of five times the surface of the sun. The high temperature causes the surrounding air to expand rapidly and vibrate as a result of thunder occurs.
Do fireball real?
One of the first reported outbreaks of ball lightning occurred in 1638, when the "big ball of fire," went through a church window. This and other early evidence suggests that ball lightning can be deadly.
However, in one study [R] It has been suggested that about half of all observations of ball lightning are hallucinations caused by magnetic fields during storms. However, scientists seem to agree that ball lightning is real, even if they have not yet fully understand what causes it.
Researchers from the Lanzhou Northwest Normal University of China, accidentally recorded Video with ball lightning during a thunderstorm 2012 study using video cameras and spectrometers [1]. The ball appeared right after a lightning strike and flew about 10 meters horizontally. The spectrometer detected in the ball silicon, iron and calcium, which are also present in the local soil.
What is a fireball?
Article researchers from Lanzhou supports the theory that ball lightning is a result of the impact on the ground, which creates a reaction between oxygen and evaporation of the elements from the soil.
According to another theory, published in 2012 [2], the presence of glass can generate a fireball. The charged particles may accumulate on the surface of the window, creating a sufficient electric field on the other side to generate a discharge.
Another study published in 2016 [3], suggests that the microwave radiation produced a lightning strike to the ground, can be encapsulated in the plasma bubble, resulting in the formation of ball lightning.
Ball lightning has also been associated with earthquakes. Rare flash light, sometimes observed around earthquakes, can take various forms: bluish flame that emerges from the ground; quick flash of bright light, which resemble regular lightning strikes, except that they come out of the ground instead of the sky; and floating balls, known as ball lightning.
In the study of earthquakes in 2014, the researchers came to the conclusion that certain breeds have a tendency to isolate the electrical charges, causing a bright flash of light.
In an effort to understand how is formed a fireball, scientists have been trying to recreate it. In 2006, researchers from the Israeli University in Tel Aviv created a laboratory version of ball lightning using microwave beam [4]. In 2018 quantum physicists have demonstrated the synthetic magnetic field that reflects and perhaps helps to explain ball lightning.
But in spite of all these studies and laboratory experiments, the fireball is still inexplicable. Scientists say they have much to learn about the mysterious phenomenon.
Links to the study:
1. https://physics.aps.org/articles/v7/5
2. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2012JD017921
3. https://www.nature.com/articles/srep28263
4. https://www.livescience.com/7035-mysterious-ball-lightning-created-lab.html