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Life Sciences => The Environment => Topic started by: neilep on 27/01/2007 13:48:33

Title: Natures Light Bulb----Ball Lightning !!..is it real ?
Post by: neilep on 27/01/2007 13:48:33

Dearest Peeps Of Science Fun & Luff,

Does ' ball lightning ' really exist ?

If so ...what is it ?..how does it come to be ?..

I have stories of it floating down an airplane cabin.....or just being a stagnant ball shaped of intense light !



Hugs, Shmishes..THANKS

Title: Natures Light Bulb----Ball Lightning !!..is it real ?
Post by: neilep on 11/09/2007 14:33:16

Just BTT'ing  (Bring To Top) this thread in case anyone now after 8 months has thought of an answer !!

Title: Natures Light Bulb----Ball Lightning !!..is it real ?
Post by: paul.fr on 11/09/2007 17:17:15

ball lightning does exist, it can be produced by a standard lightning bolt hitting the ground, soil can be energized and send out a small ball lightning with the characteristic phosphorescent green color.

http://www.endeav.org/evolut/text/ball/ball.htm

Title: Natures Light Bulb----Ball Lightning !!..is it real ?
Post by: neilep on 11/09/2007 17:21:29

THANK YOU so much Paul.

Amazing !

(facetious mode)

I particularly enjoyed this equation  [;)]

(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.endeav.org%2Fevolut%2Ftext%2Fball%2Fimage204.gif&hash=c883b85d139b666be4221e51cf2ced07)

seriously, thank you very much.

Title: Natures Light Bulb----Ball Lightning !!..is it real ?
Post by: paul.fr on 11/09/2007 17:23:46

Quote from: neilep on 11/09/2007 17:21:29

I particularly enjoyed this equation  [;)]

(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.endeav.org%2Fevolut%2Ftext%2Fball%2Fimage204.gif&hash=c883b85d139b666be4221e51cf2ced07)

it's one of my favoutites...

Title: Natures Light Bulb----Ball Lightning !!..is it real ?
Post by: techmind on 25/06/2011 16:45:45

Hi Neil et al,

This last week the weather has been a bit "interesting" with small dark clouds and very localised and heavy showers...
Last Saturday (18 June 2011) late-lunchtime I was walking through the fields near the Gog Magog hill to the south of Cambridge. I was about a mile from the Gog Magog at the time, and there was a very dark patch of cloud over/behind the hilltop. At 13.20BST, I noticed out of the corner of my eye what looked like a spherical ball of white light above the hilltop. I say "white" but it was slightly creamy-white, ie a cooler colour-temperature than daylight. Immediately it disappeared and left behind a plume of white smoke which then dispersed over a few seconds. There wasn't any normal lightning going on, nor any rain as far as I know - but some very dark clouds.

I honestly don't know whether it was an instantaneous flash of light, or whether it had been there for a few seconds before I noticed it. But it definitely struck me as being circular/spherical rather than a point source - I'd say it subtended and angle about half that of the sun or moon (when I was about 1 mile away) but given the "horizon effect" which makes things near the horizon seem bigger, it might have been a bit smaller than that.
I did hear a thud a few seconds after the flash/light disappeared (and then another a few seconds after the first) - but given the bird-scarers in the area I can't be sure that the sound was related!
I think I saw the light/flash solely out of the corner of my eye -  don't know if this might affect my perception of what I saw. I looked directly at the smoke though.

I got to the hilltop half an hour later, and there was no obvious evidence that anyone had been messing about with fireworks of any kind! I suppose it could have been something launched from a mortar-tube - which I guess would give two bangs; one when launched and one when it exploded in the air. But I still think that had it been firework it would have looked like a point-source rather than a ball...?


I also found this which bears some similarity to my experience:
http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf067/sf067g16.htm

Title: Natures Light Bulb----Ball Lightning !!..is it real ?
Post by: techmind on 04/08/2011 00:37:52

See also:
http://www.torro.org.uk/site/ball_info.php

and

http://www.foia.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-091008-049.pdf