Lightning is a high-voltage electrical discharge of immense current, high power, and very high temperature that occurs in nature. There are many types of lightning: linear lightning, sprites, jets, and elves, and the most mysterious – ball lightning.
Ball lightning is the name given to a luminous, spherical object which typically appears during a thunderstorm alongside a strike of linear lightning.
There are already over 400 different theories about the nature of this phenomenon, however, none of them have been proven. Moreover, physicists have still not been able to recreate an absolutely identical natural model of ball lightning. The best laboratory tests have only resulted in the appearance of a luminous sphere for a fraction of a second. Thus, eyewitness accounts have become the primary source of information about this amazing phenomenon.
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Ball lightning differs significantly from linear (ordinary) lightning in both its behavior and appearance. For example, it is accompanied by thunder and can exist for several minutes, whereas ordinary lightning is characterized by its brevity.
Furthermore, ball lightning can be of entirely different colors. Eyewitnesses reported luminous white, red, blue, and even black spheres appearing during thunderstorms. Some also noted that the plasmoids could change color or even be, for example, blue-red simultaneously.
A significant distinction of ball lightning is the complete unpredictability of its trajectory. All eyewitnesses state that the luminous spheres move through space so unusually that they create the impression of intelligent beings. Moreover, it is entirely impossible to predict how the appearance of ball lightning will conclude – with an explosion, a strike against an object, disintegration into several parts, or a silent disappearance.
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The size of ball lightning can range from 3 to almost 40 cm. Its speed can reach up to 10 meters per second, therefore, any attempts to escape from the glowing sphere are futile and, on the contrary, can lead to a fatal outcome.
Some scientists claim that people die upon contact with ball lightning not due to electric shock, but due to the toxic substances it emits.
Ball lightning is attracted to all electrical appliances, damaging them in the process. The temperature inside the plasma object, according to various data, can range from 100 to 1000 degrees Celsius. Eyewitnesses noted that plasmoids can melt iron coins while leaving paper banknotes intact. Therefore, if you observe ball lightning, immediately remove electrical appliances from your hands or move away from them.
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Ball lightning is known to "enter" homes. Therefore, during a thunderstorm, despite the fact that a plasmoid can pass through walls, it is recommended to close windows.
If you become an eyewitness to ball lightning, remain motionless until it disappears. At the same time, try to maintain composure, because, according to one theory, low-frequency radiation emanating from lightning negatively affects the human psyche. Thus, they can cause hallucinations, headaches, and feelings of fear.
