Every day a person is faced with unusual natural phenomena. Some are dangerous. Others are beautiful in a way that takes your breath away. There are also rare, but therefore only more curious, phenomena, such as ball lightning or the northern lights. Their attractive power has given rise to a lot of myths and legends. How these miracles actually form, "RG" tried to figure it out with the help of science.

Lightning from socket

Even simple (linear) lightning is not a fully understood phenomenon, while ball lightning is a true mystery even at the current level of development of science.

Myths and legends of antiquity were presented in a variety of guises, but most often in the form of monsters with fiery eyes. The first documentary evidence of this phenomenon dates back to the times of the Roman Empire. And in the Russian archives it was first mentioned in 1663: in one of the monasteries came "a denunciation from priest Ivanishche" from the village of Novye Yergi, in which it was reported that "... fire fell on the ground in many yards, and on the tracks, and along mansions, like tows of grief, and people ran away from him, and he rolled after them, but did not burn anyone, and then rose up into the clouds.

Numerous eyewitnesses usually describe ball lightning in this way: a bright luminous ball, unrelated to any source of electricity, moves both horizontally and randomly. In rare cases, lightning "sticks", for example, to wires and moves along them. Often the ball enters the closed room through a gap smaller than its diameter. Lightning disappears just as strangely as it appears - it can explode, or it can simply go out. Another mystery of it is that, being a heated gas, lightning does not mix with the surrounding atmosphere, but has a fairly clear boundary of the "ball".

Lightning lives for about 10 seconds. When moving, it often emits a low crackle or hiss. And its most common colors are red, orange, yellow, white and blue. “In general, the color of ball lightning is not its characteristic feature and, in particular, does not say anything about its temperature, as well as about its composition. Most likely, it is determined by the presence of certain impurities,” he explains in his book on the nature of ball lightning. , Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Igor Stakhanov.

The luminous flux from ball lightning is on average comparable to that emitted by an electric lamp.

The amazing thing about ball lightning is that it radiates almost no heat at all. According to experts, people are misled by the intense glow: a person sees a "hot" ball and feels heat, which is not really there. Often, ball lightning passes at a distance of 10-20 centimeters from parts of the body that are not protected by clothing, for example, from the face, without causing any consequences. However, in direct contact with the object, damage is still possible: it happened that the ball flew out the window and burned through the curtain or melted metal objects. These evidences, scientists assure, speak only about the possibility of releasing significant energy, but by no means about the high temperature of the substance of the lightning itself.

The study of this mysterious phenomenon is complicated by the fact that it is almost impossible to obtain lightning in the laboratory, although attempts have been made since the time of Nikola Tesla. According to the researchers, in their work they can often rely only on the testimony of eyewitnesses, which, by the way, are many. Only in Russia live tens of thousands of people who have observed ball lightning with their own eyes. At the same time, only a small part of the witnesses can tell about its origin.

It is sometimes argued that a luminous ball appears at the branching point of the linear lightning channel. Often it appears from conductors - from a telephone, from a shield with meters, from an outlet (the most common option that eyewitnesses describe) and so on. Moreover, artificial balls arise, just like natural ones: where significant charges accumulate that cannot be neutralized. A similar process, for example, occurs during a short circuit.

"The slow spreading of these charges leads to coronation or the appearance of St. Elmo's fires, while the fast spreading leads to the appearance of ball lightning," explains Stakhanov.

So, according to the research of physicists, "ball lightning is a conducting medium with the density of air, at a temperature close to room temperature. Its molecules are metastable and release energy, which serves as a source of radiated heat and luminescence."

There are several more interesting theories of the origin of ball lightning. So, a number of researchers suggest that such lightning is a plasmoid, that is, a volume filled with high-temperature plasma held by its own magnetic field. The same magnetic field that prevents plasma particles from flying apart can isolate it from the surrounding air and prevent the energy from dissipating quickly. Opponents of this idea say that the problem of ball lightning has nothing to do with the implementation of controlled thermonuclear fusion.

Scientists also suggest that ball lightning may consist either of neutral molecules in the ground state, or of molecules excited to metastable levels. This is the so-called chemical hypothesis. So, Boris Smirnov, an outstanding scientist in the field of atomic physics, suggests that the energy of lightning is contained in ozone and is released during its decomposition. To obtain higher concentrations of ozone, according to Smirnov's theory, the excitation of oxygen by a lightning current is required.

heavenly fire

The rays of the aurora cover the entire sky .... Incredible beauty overflows will not leave anyone indifferent - even experienced researchers do not cease to be amazed at this amazing natural phenomenon. In the Northern Hemisphere, aurora is typical for Canada, Alaska, Norway, Finland and the polar part of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. You can observe the aurora in the Southern Hemisphere, for example, in Antarctica, less often - in the middle latitudes.

There are a lot of myths about this phenomenon. So, according to the legend of the inhabitants of the tundra, the northern lights are a fire that was lit by an eagle to help the grandfather and grandson, who were looking for a dog injured in the hunt in pitch darkness. Radiance illuminates the path for those who want to do a good deed. In Norse mythology, the northern lights are a harbinger of bad weather. And the Vikings identified this natural phenomenon with the god Odin.

Although the phrase "Northern Lights" sounds more familiar, there is also the Aurora Borealis. Until recently, it was believed that the auroras at the South and North Poles are identical. But when they began to observe it from space, it turned out that in many characteristics - configuration, intensity, glow - they differ.

The source of the radiance is the solar wind: the stream of charged particles (mostly protons and neutrons) that the sun emits into space. Solar particles enter the magnetosphere through the polar regions of the Earth and, if the energy charge is sufficient, they pass into the atmosphere, where they collide with gas atoms - this is how the glow occurs. At an altitude of about two hundred kilometers, oxygen atoms glow red, while those below glow green. The colors of the aurora depend on the elements involved in the process of its formation. So, nitrogen will glow with reddish or bluish hues.

On February 14, 2011, a strong flare was recorded on the Sun. The activity of the luminary has increased. Several pictures were taken from the International Space Station, which recorded the curious consequences of these outbreaks - aurora at an atypical height of 400 kilometers (with a traditional glow height of 70-80 kilometers).

The northern lights are a visible manifestation of space weather: the Sun is calm - there are no radiances, spots or flames appear on the Sun - wait for the lights on Earth. Despite the fact that the nature of this natural phenomenon has been studied quite well, a person has not yet learned to predict its occurrence with absolute certainty.

By the way, the aurora borealis is not only visible, but also heard. The northern tribes have long noticed that during the period when the sky is colored with lights, some people begin to behave strangely: they talk to non-existent interlocutors or completely abandon the outside world. Scientists explained this phenomenon with low-frequency electromagnetic waves that generate the northern lights. They are emitted in the range of 8-13 hertz, which is akin to the beta and alpha rhythms of the brain. The human ear does not perceive infrasound (the noise of the aurora arc becomes audible only when magnified by 2,000 times), but it can have the most unpredictable effects on the brain and cardiovascular system.

Despite the reasoned explanation, eyewitnesses who observed the aurora often say that it sounds exactly - something like a hiss is heard. The most plausible explanation for this mysterious phenomenon, scientists believe, is mutual interference in the brain. When the optic nerve is near the auditory nerve, mutual interference can occur between them, and the person has a sensation of sound when in fact it is not heard.

An interesting fact is that auroras can also occur on other planets of the solar system that have an atmosphere and a magnetic field: on Venus, Saturn and Jupiter.

deadly weather

For unknown reasons, once every three to seven years, the trade winds suddenly weaken, the balance is disturbed, and the warm waters of the western basin rush to the east, creating one of the strongest warm currents in the oceans. Over a huge area in the eastern Pacific Ocean, in the tropical and central equatorial parts, there is a sharp increase in the temperature of the surface layer of water. This is the onset of El Niño. Drought and rains, hurricanes, tornadoes and snowfalls are its main companions.

This meteorological phenomenon, according to scientists, affects almost every inhabitant of the planet. It has taken scientists over a hundred years to understand the true power of El Niño.

In the spring of 1998, Southern California was hit by torrential rains that never stopped. At the same time, the Australian Queensland suffered from the exact opposite problem - from an unprecedented drought. And these are just two examples of natural anomalies that swept the world that year. Peru and Kenya suffered from floods and the ensuing cholera, massive forest fires and thick smog caused drought in Indonesia .... The weather seemed to be out of control, but the scientists were sure that all these were links in the same chain. Then a phenomenon was discovered, known to fishermen for thousands of years, but hitherto not considered from a scientific point of view.

The coast of Peru is considered one of the richest regions in fish. However, with a periodicity of several years, a warm current appears in the surface waters, after which the marine life characteristic of these places disappears, rains begin, and grass grows violently on dry soils. It always happens at the same time of the year - around Christmas. Therefore, the mysterious phenomenon was called El Niño, which means "boy" in translation, and the capitalization indicates the baby Christ.

Until the 90s of the XIX century, the Peruvian anomaly did not excite the minds of the world. Then a British scientist named Herbert Walker became interested in the problem that existed in the largest colony of the empire - in India: here in 1877 there were no monsoon rains. The famine claimed 5 million lives. Again the tragedy repeated itself in 1899. The British government has given scientists the task of predicting the rainy seasons. Walker found that it was all about atmospheric pressure: when it rises in the central Pacific, it drops in Indonesia and northern Australia. And vice versa. Thus, the existence of oscillations (fluctuations in properties) in atmospheric pressure with a frequency of 3-5 years was proved.

It was a real breakthrough, but contemporaries criticized the British idea. It took half a century and a bit of luck for the discovery to be reborn.

In 1957, the UN program in the Pacific Ocean installed several buoys to change temperature fluctuations. Just this year there was a major El Niño. So, quite by accident, unique data about this phenomenon were obtained. Scientists have discovered that changes off the coast of Peru are not local in nature, that during the El Niño period, warm layers of water from the Indonesian region move across the ocean and reach the Peruvian coast, and vice versa.

In the 1960s, the Norwegian scientist Jacob Bjerknis, who since 1940 headed the meteorological department of the University of California, collaborated with the commissions for catching tuna: he studied the periods of activity of fish, their susceptibility to climate change. The researcher collected all available data and for the first time linked changes in surface water temperature with changes in the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.

Under normal conditions, warm waters remain in the western Pacific Basin, while the trade winds blow from east to west. This is how a low pressure zone forms around Indonesia - clouds and precipitation form. But with El Niño, the picture is just the opposite. This shift causes flooding in Peru, drought in Australia, and hurricanes in California.

El Niño has the power to change even the course of history. Scientists have found several confirmations of this: when, due to El Niño, the winter in Europe turned out to be severe, the starving peasants began to rebel - this is how the French Revolution began; in 1587-89, the Spanish armada was defeated not by the British fleet at all, but by the same notorious El Nino, changing the prevailing direction of the wind that filled the sails of the Spaniards; even the sinking of the Titanic is blamed on this weather event, which created unusually cold conditions in the north Atlantic.

sun illusionist

Parhelion is a form of halo, an optical phenomenon in which a luminous ring forms around a light source. During a parhelion, one or more additional false luminaries are observed in the sky. It is believed that this phenomenon is most often mistaken for UFOs. Indeed, outwardly it is a bit like the common image of flying saucers. In the old days, the halo, like many other celestial phenomena, was attributed the mystical meaning of signs, to which many chronicle evidence from different parts of the world is known. So, in the "Word of Igor's Campaign" it is said that before the offensive of the Polovtsy and the capture of Igor "four suns shone over the Russian land", which was perceived as a sign of impending great trouble.

With a halo, the sun looks like it is visible through a large lens. In fact, it is rather the effect of millions of lenses, which are ice crystals. Water, freezing in the upper atmosphere, forms microscopic flat, hexagonal ice crystals. They gradually descend to the ground, while for the most part they are oriented parallel to its surface. The gaze passes through this very plane formed by crystals that refract sunlight. Under favorable circumstances, false suns can be observed: the luminary is in the center, and a pair of its clearly visible twins are at the edges. Sometimes at the same time, a light circle, slightly colored in iridescent tones, encircling the sun appears.

By the way, clouds are not a prerequisite for the appearance of a halo. It can also be observed in a clear sky, if at the same time many individual ice crystals float high in the atmosphere. This happens on frosty winter days in clear weather.

A bright horizontal circle may appear around the sun, encircling the sky parallel to the horizon. "Special experiments that scientists have repeatedly conducted show that this circle is the result of reflection of the sun's rays from the side faces of hexagonal ice crystals floating in the air in a vertical position. The sun's rays fall on such crystals and are reflected from them like from a mirror. And since this Since the mirror is special, it is made up of an innumerable mass of ice particles and, moreover, for some time appears to lie in the plane of the horizon, then a person sees the reflection of the solar disk in the same plane. , but in another plane - its twin in the form of a large bright circle," - this is how the researchers explain the phenomenon.

The halo can be seen in the form of a pillar. For this effect, we must thank the ice crystals, which have the shape of a plate. Their lower faces reflect the light of the sun that has already hidden behind the horizon, and instead of it, a luminous path is visible for some time going into the sky from the horizon - an image of the solar disk distorted beyond recognition. Simply put, this is the same "lunar path" that can be observed on the sea surface, only in the sky and generated by the sun.

The halo can also be rainbow colored. Such a circle occurs when there are many hexagonal ice crystals in the atmosphere, which do not reflect, but refract the sun's rays like a glass prism. Most of the rays are scattered, but some of them, having passed through the prisms in the air and refracted, reach us, and we see a rainbow circle around the sun. Iridescent because, passing through a prism, a white light beam decomposes into its own colors of the spectrum.

It is curious that halos are often observed in front of cyclones (in cirrostratus clouds at a height of 5-10 kilometers of their warm front), which, therefore, can serve as a sign of their approach.

The sun is generally rich in mysterious and beautiful "deeds". For example, a green beam - the rarest optical phenomenon - is a flash of green that appears when the sun disappears behind the horizon (usually sea) or when it appears from behind the horizon. It usually only lasts a few seconds. To see the green beam, three conditions must be met: clean air, an open horizon (on the sea without waves or in the steppe) and the side of the horizon where the sunrise or sunset occurs, free from clouds.

Where do the stones go

East of California's Sierra Nevada, on the dry Lake Racetrack Playa, lies Death Valley National Park, the title holder for the driest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere. The ambiguous name of these places is due to settlers who crossed the desert territory in 1849, trying to get to the gold mines by the shortest route. Some stayed in the valley forever…. It was in this ominous place that the rarest geological phenomenon was discovered - sliding or creeping stones.

Cobblestones weighing up to thirty kilograms in an incomprehensible way slowly move along the clay bottom of the lake, which is confirmed by the paths that remain behind them and have a length of up to 250 meters. At the same time, stone wanderers crawl in different directions, at different speeds, and can even return back to the place of departure. The tracks that they leave no wider than 30 centimeters and less than 2.5 centimeters deep can take years to form. The movement of stones has never been captured on camera, but there is no doubt about the existence of this phenomenon.

It is predictable that earlier the phenomenon was "explained" by the influence of some supernatural forces. But at the beginning of the 20th century, scientists began to study the nature of the miracle. At first it was assumed that the driving force of the stones is the magnetic fields of the Earth. The mechanism itself could not be explained by scientists. As life has shown, the theory was untenable, although for its time it fit into the picture of the world: the electromagnetic approach to the study of certain phenomena then dominated the scientific community.

The first monumental works describing the trajectories of stones appeared in the late 1940s and 1950s, but it took years and years for researchers to get closer to unraveling the phenomenon. The most popular theory was that the wind helped move the stones. The clay bottom of Racetrack Playa - the place of the "walk" - is covered with a network of cracks and remains dry almost all the time, the vegetation here is extremely sparse. Sometimes, nevertheless, the soil here is moistened due to rare precipitation, the friction force decreases, and strong gusts of wind move stones from their "familiar places".

The theory had a lot of opponents, but the most reasoned refutation was found only in the 1970s by American scientists Robert Sharp and Dwight Carey. Over the years of studying this desert area and observing the stones, they came to the conclusion that one wind is not enough here and assumed (and even proved by experience) that the wind was pushing not so much the stones themselves, but the pieces of ice that form on them, increase the contact area with the atmosphere and at the same time facilitate sliding.

In 1993, Paula Messina, a professor at the University of San Jose, used the capabilities of a GPS system to study the movement of stones. She studied the change in the coordinates of 162 boulders and found that their movement is affected by what part of Racetrack Playa they are in. According to the created model, the wind over the lake after the storm is divided into two streams, which is associated with the peculiarities of the geometry of the mountains surrounding Racetrack Playa. The stones, localized along the edges of the lake, move in different, almost perpendicular, directions. And in the center, the winds collide and twist in a kind of tornado, causing the stones to rotate as well.

True, so far there is no clear explanation for the curious fact that some stones crawl through the desert, while others do not. If all boulders are equally affected by wind eddies, why don't they all move? This remains to be seen.

Ball lightning. This mysterious phenomenon of nature is still very little studied. There are many cases when this clot of crushing energy enters our homes. It penetrates the room through the slightest cracks, chimneys and even through smooth glass. Ball lightning is a fleeting phenomenon, but sometimes it can be observed for 20 seconds.

Ball lightning is considered a special type of lightning, which is a luminous fireball floating through the air (sometimes it looks like a mushroom, drop or pear).

Getting into the apartment, ball lightning behaves differently: it either goes out, or "splashes" with a crash. Its sizes vary. The most common lightning is about 15 cm in size. But there are times when it reaches 1 meter or more in diameter. In contact with a person, in general, the matter ends tragically. But in rare cases this does not happen. Not so long ago, such a contact happened in China: surprisingly, having hit the same person 2 times, she did not kill him (the incident was shown on TV).

A case of such a meeting with ball lightning is described: in Zimbabwe (Africa), a young woman escaped with such contact with only the loss of her dress and hairstyle. In Pyatigorsk, a roofing worker burned his hands while trying to brush off a small ball that seemed to be hovering over him. I had to be treated for a long time, because such burns do not heal for a long time. But there are many more cases that end tragically. In the summer there was a case when a still not old man was killed, who was grazing public cattle in the pasture. Ball lightning destroyed him along with his horse.

There have been instances where aircraft encounter these fireballs. But the death of the aircraft or the crew has not yet been recorded (only minor damage to the skin was noted).

What does ball lightning look like?

Ball lightnings come in different shapes: round, oval, conical, etc. The color of lightning also has a full range of colors. There are red with different shades, green, orange, white. Some types of lightning have a luminous "tail". What is this natural phenomenon? Scientists say that ball lightning is a clot of plasma, the temperature of which can be 30,000,000 degrees. This is higher than the solar temperature at its center.

Why does this happen, what is its nature of occurrence. Observations of the appearance of these "balls" from nowhere were noted - on a sunny clear day, mysterious orange balls moved close to the surface, in a place where there were no high-voltage wires and other types of energy sources. Maybe they arise deep in the bowels of our planet, maybe in its faults. In general, this mysterious phenomenon has not yet been studied by anyone. Our scientists know more about the origin of stars than about what goes on under their noses from age to age.

Types of ball lightning

Based on eyewitness accounts, two main types of ball lightning are distinguished:

1. The first is a red fireball descending from a cloud. When such a heavenly gift touches some object on earth, such as a tree, it explodes. Interesting: ball lightning can be the size of a soccer ball, it can hiss and buzz menacingly.
2. Another type of ball lightning travels along the earth's surface for a long time and glows with a bright white light. The ball is attracted to good conductors of electricity and can touch anything - the ground, a power line, or a person.

Time of existence of ball lightning

Ball lightning exists from a few seconds to several minutes. Why is it so?

One theory claims that the ball is a small copy of a thundercloud. Here's how it might happen. The smallest dust particles are constantly in the air. Lightning can impart an electrical charge to dust particles in a certain area of ​​the air. Some dust particles are positively charged, others are negatively charged. In a further light presentation lasting up to many seconds, millions of small lightnings connect oppositely charged dust particles, creating in the air the image of a sparkling fireball - ball lightning.

What is hidden behind the mystical appearance of a mysterious bundle of energy that medieval Europeans were so afraid of?

There is an opinion that these are messengers of extraterrestrial civilizations or, in general, beings endowed with intelligence. But is it really so?

Let's deal with this unusually interesting phenomenon.

What is ball lightning

Ball lightning is a rare natural phenomenon that looks like it glows and floats into a formation. It's a glowing ball that appears out of nowhere and disappears into thin air. Its diameter varies from 5 to 25 cm. Briefly.

Typically, ball lightning can be seen just before, after, or during a thunderstorm. The duration of the phenomenon itself ranges from a few seconds to a couple of minutes.

The lifespan of ball lightning tends to increase with its size and decrease with its brightness. It is believed that fireballs, which have a distinct orange or blue color, last longer than ordinary ones.

Ball lightning typically travels parallel to the ground, but can also move in vertical bursts.

It usually descends from the clouds, but it can also suddenly materialize outdoors or indoors; it can enter a room through a closed or open window, thin non-metallic walls, or a chimney.

Ball Lightning Mystery

In the first half of the 19th century, the French physicist, astronomer and naturalist Francois Arago, perhaps the first in civilization, collected and systematized all the evidence of the appearance of ball lightning known at that time. In his book, more than 30 cases of observation of ball lightning were described.

The suggestion put forward by some scientists that ball lightning is a plasma ball was rejected, since "a hot ball of plasma would have to rise up like a balloon", and this is exactly what ball lightning does not do.

Some physicists have suggested that ball lightning appears due to electrical discharges. For example, a Russian physicist believed that ball lightning is a discharge that occurs without electrodes and is caused by microwaves of unknown origin that exist between clouds and the earth.

According to another theory, outdoor fireballs are caused by an atmospheric maser (microwave quantum generator).

Two scientists from - John Abramson and James Dinnis - believe that fireballs consist of ragged balls of burning silicon, created by ordinary lightning striking the ground.

According to their theory, when lightning strikes the ground, it breaks down into tiny particles of silicon and its constituents, oxygen and carbon.

These charged particles join into chains that continue to form already fibrous networks. They gather together in a luminous "ragged" ball, which is picked up by air currents.

There it floats like ball lightning or a burning ball of silicon, radiating the energy it has absorbed from the lightning in the form of heat and light until it burns out.

In the scientific community, there are many hypotheses about the origin of ball lightning, which make no sense to talk about, since all of them are only assumptions.

Ball lightning of Nikola Tesla

The first experiments to study this mysterious phenomenon can be considered works at the end of the 19th century. In his brief note, he reports that, under certain conditions, igniting a gas discharge, he, after turning off the voltage, observed a spherical luminous discharge with a diameter of 2-6 cm.

However, Tesla (see) did not report the details of his experience, so it was difficult to reproduce this installation.

Eyewitnesses claimed that Tesla could make fireballs for several minutes, while he took them in his hands, put them in a box, covered them with a lid and took them out again.

Historical evidence

Many physicists of the 19th century, including Kelvin and Faraday, during their lifetimes were inclined to believe that ball lightning is either an optical illusion or a phenomenon of a completely different, non-electrical nature.

However, the number of cases, the detail of the description of the phenomenon and the reliability of the evidence increased, which attracted the attention of many scientists, including well-known physicists.

Here are some reliable historical evidence of the observation of ball lightning.

Death of Georg Richmann

In 1753, Georg Richmann, a full member of the Academy of Sciences, died from a ball lightning strike. He invented a device for studying atmospheric electricity, so when he heard at the next meeting that it was coming, he urgently went home with an engraver to capture the phenomenon.

During the experiment, a bluish-orange ball flew out of the device and hit the scientist right in the forehead. There was a deafening roar, similar to the shot of a gun. Richman dropped dead.

The Warren Hastings incident

A British publication reported that in 1809 the Warren Hastings was "attacked by three balls of fire" during a storm. The crew saw one of them go down and kill a man on deck.

The one who decided to take the body was hit by the second ball; he was knocked down and had minor burns on his body. The third ball killed another person.

The crew noted that after the incident, there was a disgusting smell of sulfur above the deck.

Contemporary evidence

• During World War II, pilots reported strange phenomena that could be interpreted as ball lightning. They saw small balls moving along an unusual trajectory.
• On August 6, 1944, in the Swedish city of Uppsala, ball lightning passed through a closed window, leaving behind a round hole about 5 cm in diameter. The phenomenon was observed not only by local residents. The fact is that the system for tracking lightning discharges at Uppsala University, which is located in the department for the study of electricity and lightning, has worked.
• In 2008, ball lightning flew through the window of a trolleybus in Kazan. The conductor, with the help of a validator, threw her to the end of the cabin, where there were no passengers. A few seconds later there was an explosion. There were 20 people in the cabin, but no one was hurt. The trolleybus was out of order, the validator got hot and turned white, but remained in working condition.

Since ancient times, ball lightning has been observed by thousands of people in different parts of the world. Most modern physicists do not doubt the fact that ball lightning really exists.

However, there is still no single academic opinion about what ball lightning is and what causes this natural phenomenon.

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Laboratory ball lightning

Ball lightning (etherodynamics)- this is a toroidal helical vortex of weakly compressed ether, separated by a boundary layer of ether from the surrounding ether. The energy of ball lightning is the energy of ether flows in the lightning body.

Ball lightning (popular etherodynamics)- this is a single brightly luminous relatively stable small mass that is observed in the atmosphere, floating in the air and moving together with air currents, containing great energy in its body, disappearing quietly or with great noise like an explosion and leaving no material traces after its disappearance, except for those the destruction she's caused. Typically, the occurrence of ball lightning is associated with thunderstorms and natural linear lightning. But this is optional.

Meaning from various sources

Ball lightning (wikipedia)- a rare natural phenomenon that looks like a luminous and floating formation in the air. A unified physical theory of the occurrence and course of this phenomenon has not yet been presented, there are also scientific theories that reduce the phenomenon to hallucinations. There are many hypotheses that explain the phenomenon, but none of them has received absolute recognition in the academic environment. Under laboratory conditions, similar but short-term phenomena have been obtained in several different ways, so the question of the nature of ball lightning remains open. As of the beginning of the 21st century, not a single experimental installation has been created on which this natural phenomenon would be artificially reproduced in accordance with the descriptions of eyewitnesses of the observation of ball lightning.
It is widely believed that ball lightning is a phenomenon of electrical origin, of natural nature, that is, it is a special type of lightning that exists for a long time and has the shape of a ball that can move along an unpredictable, sometimes surprising trajectory for eyewitnesses.

Notable cases

Known occurrences of ball lightning:

• The case when ball lightning jumps out of nowhere from an ordinary socket, from a magnetic starter mounted on a lathe.
• The case of the sudden appearance of ball lightning on the wing of a flying aircraft and steadily moving along the wing from its end to the fuselage. The ability of ball lightning to stick to metals is explained by the presence of a velocity gradient in the ether flows near the metal and, as a result, a decrease in the ether pressure between the lightning body and the metal. The lifting force of lightning is explained by the same. Aether flows excite gas molecules, which stop glowing as soon as they leave the lightning body.
• A sad case of the appearance of ball lightning in broad daylight and in calm clear weather in the mountains at high altitude. The fireball, which appeared from nowhere, attacked the people sleeping in the tent, and began to "bite" them, causing significant burns. She lifted the woolen blanket, spreading a bluish fire over it, and then, as expected, disappeared without leaving a trace.

Hypotheses

A significant number of hypotheses about the nature and structure of ball lightning have been created, such as:

• a luminous cloud of air ions fed from outside;
• plasma and chemical theories;
• cluster hypotheses (lightning consists of clusters - hydration shells of ions)
• and even the suggestion that ball lightning is composed of antimatter and controlled by extraterrestrial civilizations.

A common drawback of all such theories, hypotheses and models of ball lightning is that they do not explain all of its properties in the aggregate.

Properties of ball lightning

Properties Based on Behavioral Observations

• The size of stable ball lightning ranges from units to tens of centimeters.
• The shape is spherical or pear-shaped, but sometimes vague, according to the shape of the adjacent object.
• Bright luminosity visible during the daytime.
• High energy content - 10 3 -10 7 J (once ball lightning, climbing into a barrel of water, evaporated 70 kg of water).
• The specific gravity, which practically coincides with the specific mass of air in the area of ​​​​appearance (ball lightning floats freely in the air at any height);
• The ability to stick to metal objects.
• The ability to penetrate a dielectric, in particular through glass.
• The ability to deform and penetrate rooms through small openings such as keyholes, as well as through walls, along wire lines, etc.
• The ability to explode spontaneously or on contact with an object.
• The ability to lift and move various objects.

Properties based on the ether vortex model

• Vortex closed motion is the only way to localize energy in a gaseous medium. In this case, the kinetic energy of rotation of the walls of the vortex. Since the vortex exists, balancing the external pressure, it will be compressed by the medium, increasing the speed of rotation. This will happen until the centrifugal force acting on the chambers is equal to the force of the external pressure of the ether. Thus, we obtain a critically compacted vortex with a high energy density.
• The toroidal movement is very stable under critical compaction. At high rotation speeds, a surface layer is formed, in which the viscosity decreases sharply. This phenomenon acts as a bearing, reducing losses during rotation of the vortex.
• Since, as we believe, both BL and electromagnetic phenomena are of an etherodynamic nature, the presence of electromagnetic properties in ball lightning is not surprising. Moreover, toroidal vortices have their own magnetic moment and an axis of symmetry. This leads to the fact that CMMs are guided by external fields, that is, by vortex tubes, and move along them, as if on rails (with a sufficient field strength).
• Since ether particles have dimensions ten orders of magnitude smaller than particles of matter, macroscopic ether vortices can easily pass through material objects, just like the wind through a sparse forest. In this case, however, strong eddy currents will be induced in the substances (depending on the composition), which, together with other phenomena, will lead to strong heat release.
• Strong electric and magnetic fields of the ethereal vortex ionize gas molecules, bringing gases into the state of plasma. Synthesis of elements is also possible due to the presence of vortex motions.
• Due to strong electromagnetic fields, ball lightning induces eddy currents in metals, which can lead to energy depletion and dissolution. But in most cases, with a spontaneous violation of the integrity of the vortex, the energy accumulated in it will be released in the form of electromagnetic radiation (the macroscopic toroid will collapse and its rotational energy will go into many microscopic toroids-particles and vortex lanes-photons).

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The first written mention of the mysterious and mysterious fireballs can be found in the annals of 106 BC. e .: “Great fiery birds appeared over Rome, carrying red-hot coals in their beaks, which, falling down, burned houses. The city was on fire…” There were also many descriptions of fireballs in Portugal and France in the Middle Ages, the phenomenon of which prompted alchemists to spend their time in search of an opportunity to dominate the spirits of fire.

Ball lightning is considered a special type of lightning, which is a luminous fireball floating through the air (sometimes it looks like a mushroom, drop or pear). Its size usually ranges from 10 to 20 cm, and it itself is blue, orange or white (although other colors can often be seen, up to black), while the color is heterogeneous and often changes. People who have seen what ball lightning looks like say that inside it consists of small fixed parts.

As for the temperature of the plasma ball, it has not yet been determined: although, according to scientists, it should be from 100 to 1000 degrees Celsius, people who found themselves near the fireball did not feel the heat from it. If it suddenly explodes (although this is far from always the case), all nearby liquid evaporates, and glass and metal melt.

A case was recorded when a plasma ball, being in a house, fell into a barrel, where there were sixteen liters of freshly brought well water. At the same time, it did not explode, but after boiling water, it disappeared. After the water finished boiling, it was hot for twenty minutes.

A fireball can exist for quite a long time, and when moving, it can suddenly change direction, while it can even hang in the air for several minutes, after which it abruptly, at a speed of 8 to 10 m / s, go to the side.

Ball lightning occurs mainly during a thunderstorm, but repeated cases of its occurrence in sunny weather have also been recorded. It usually appears in a single copy (at least modern science has not recorded another), and often in the most unexpected way: it can descend from the clouds, appear in the air or swim out from behind a pole or tree. It is not difficult for her to penetrate into an enclosed space: there are cases of her appearance from sockets, a TV, and even in cockpits.

Many cases of continuous occurrence of ball lightning in the same place have been recorded. So, in a small town near Pskov there is a Devil's Glade, on which black ball lightning periodically jumps out of the ground (it began to appear here after the fall of the Tunguska meteorite). Its constant occurrence in the same place made it possible for scientists to try to fix this appearance with the help of sensors, however, to no avail: they were all melted during the movement of ball lightning across the clearing.

Secrets of ball lightning

For a long time, scientists did not even allow the existence of such a phenomenon as ball lightning: information about its appearance was attributed mainly to either optical illusion or hallucinations that affect the retina after a flash of ordinary lightning. Moreover, the evidence of what ball lightning looks like did not coincide in many respects, and during its reproduction in laboratory conditions, it was possible to obtain only short-term phenomena.

Everything changed after the beginning of the XIX century. physicist Francois Arago published a report with collected and systematized eyewitness accounts of the phenomenon of ball lightning. Although these data managed to convince many scientists of the existence of this amazing phenomenon, skeptics still remained. Moreover, the mysteries of ball lightning do not decrease over time, but only multiply.

First of all, the nature of the appearance of an amazing ball is incomprehensible, since it appears not only in a thunderstorm, but also on a clear fine day.

The composition of the substance is also unclear, which allows it to penetrate not only through door and window openings, but also through tiny cracks, after which it again takes its original form without prejudice to itself (physicists are currently unable to unravel this phenomenon).

Some scientists, studying the phenomenon, put forward the assumption that ball lightning is actually a gas, but in this case, the plasma ball, under the influence of internal heat, would have to fly up like a balloon.

And the nature of the radiation itself is not clear: where does it come from - only from the surface of the lightning, or from its entire volume. Also, physicists cannot help but face the question of where the energy disappears, what is inside ball lightning: if it went only to radiation, the ball would not disappear after a few minutes, but would glow for a couple of hours.

Despite a huge number of theories, physicists still cannot give a scientifically sound explanation of this phenomenon. But, there are two opposite versions that have gained popularity in scientific circles.

Hypothesis #1

Dominic Arago not only systematized the data on the plasma ball, but also tried to explain what the riddle of ball lightning is. According to him, ball lightning is a specific interaction of nitrogen with oxygen, during which energy is released that creates lightning.

Another physicist Frenkel supplemented this version with the theory that the plasma ball is a spherical vortex, consisting of dust particles with active gases, which became such due to the resulting electrical discharge. For this reason, the vortex-ball may well exist for quite a long time. His version is supported by the fact that a plasma ball usually appears in dusty air after an electric discharge, and leaves behind a small haze with a specific smell.

Thus, this version suggests that all the energy of the plasma ball is inside it, which is why ball lightning can be considered an energy storage device.

Hypothesis #2

Academician Pyotr Kapitsa did not agree with this opinion, since he argued that for the continuous glow of lightning, additional energy is needed that would feed the ball from the outside. He put forward a version that the phenomenon of ball lightning is fueled by radio waves with a length of 35 to 70 cm, resulting from electromagnetic oscillations that occur between thunderclouds and the earth's crust.

He explained the explosion of ball lightning by an unexpected stop in the supply of energy, for example, a change in the frequency of electromagnetic oscillations, as a result of which rarefied air "collapses".

Although many people liked his version, the nature of the fireball does not match the version. At the moment, modern equipment has never recorded the radio waves of the desired wave, which would appear as a result of atmospheric discharges. In addition, water is an almost insurmountable obstacle to radio waves, and therefore it would not be possible for a plasma ball to heat water, as in the case of a barrel, and even more so to boil it.

It also casts doubt on the scale of the explosion of the plasma ball: it is not only capable of melting or smashing strong and strong objects into pieces, but also breaking thick logs, and its shock wave is capable of overturning the tractor. At the same time, the ordinary "collapse" of rarefied air is not capable of doing all these tricks, and its effect is similar to a bursting balloon.

What to do when you encounter ball lightning

Whatever the reason for the emergence of an amazing plasma ball, it must be borne in mind that a collision with it is extremely dangerous, because if a ball overflowing with electricity touches a living creature, it may well kill, and if it explodes, it can smash everything around.

Seeing a fireball at home or on the street, the main thing is not to panic, do not make sudden movements and do not run: ball lightning is extremely sensitive to any air turbulence and may well follow it.

You need to slowly, calmly turn off the path of the ball, trying to stay as far away from it as possible, but in no case turn your back. If ball lightning is in the room, you need to go to the window and open the window: following the movement of air, the lightning will most likely fly out.

It is also strictly forbidden to throw anything into the plasma ball: this may well lead to an explosion, and then injuries, burns, and in some cases even cardiac arrest are inevitable. If it so happened that a person failed to leave the trajectory of the ball, and he touched him, causing a loss of consciousness, the victim must be transferred to a ventilated room, wrapped warmly, artificially respired and, of course, immediately call an ambulance.