Bizarre Natural Phenomena Vol.24 - Exploding Balls In The Sky (Ball Lightning)

A new week has just begun and a new post on bizarre natural phenomena is here. This series has dealt with lightning and storms in the past, only this time I got something really peculiar. We all know that lightning comes in violent flashes that seem to tear the skies in two, but have you ever heard of ball lightning? A blast of tremendous power that can penetrate house walls and airplanes? If not, then follow the lines below… 

(Image source: commons.wikimedia.org)

Suspect 

Ball Lightning. 

Description

A luminous sphere of size varying from a marble to a ball (although the shape may vary from a sphere to a teardrop). Its duration is longer than that of regular lightning (several microseconds). It's as luminous as a bright lightbulb and its color ranges from white and yellow to red, green and blue. It is usually accompanied by a hissing sound After the blast reports mention there is a strange sulfuric (and some other elements) smell in the air. It is not necessarily related with thunderstorms, as you can view it inside aircraft and around power poles, but it's most common to spot them during stormy weather.

Accusations

Causing physical harm, even death and setting buildings on fire. Witnesses also mention it "breaking into" houses and airplanes as well.

(Image source: wikipedia.org)

Origin

Owing to its rare occurrence, the phenomenon has not been thoroughly observed, but there have been reports of it dating back in the 17th century. The first official recording ever was in 2014 from the Northwest Normal University (Lanzhou, China). The scientists happened to get that on tape while they were studying normal lighting.

Take a look at the video:

Before this, scientists had successfully produced the phenomenon in the lab. Since there are no evidence to allow for a confirmed theory to explain its reason of existence, there are many possible scenarios considering ball lightning:

1. After a lightning strike on the ground silicon vapor is created. When this vapor cools down, it forms a silicon dust, the dust particles are attracted to each other because of the electrical charge the lightning produces and they form a ball.
2. The first theory might expand to other elements (like iron and aluminum) giving a plausible explanation why ball lightning is seen around power poles and active faults.
3. Microwave radiation caused by the air ions formed due to lightning.
4. Tiny black holes that happen to pass through the atmosphere.
5. Charged plasma causes the lightning.

The plasma and microwaves theory seem to justify ball lightning pretty well so far, but further experimenting needs to be done. Microwaves are produced by highly accelerated electrons as lightning strikes the earth. These microwaves produce plasma by charging the surrounding air and then lead the plasma to form a ball. 

This theory fits to explain several characteristics of the phenomenon. The fact that ball lightning can occur inside houses and airplanes is explained by microwaves being able to penetrate glass and metal. Microwaves can also produce sound that our inner ear recognizes and the plasma from the ionization of the air will then create ozone, a gas with a strong and unpleasant odor. So we have smell and sound covered. As for the distinctive shape, this theory seems to give valid explanations too.

I won't go into further scientific details here as I don't want to bore you with theories. I will just hope you get to view this really weird and rare phenomenon for yourselves (just not from very close).

References

phys.org
nautil.us
dailymail.co.uk
science.howstuffworks.com
wikipedia.org
 

Thank you for stopping by and giving this post a read. I hope you enjoyed it! If it got your curiosity-radar on, you can check some of the previous articles on this series:
19 - Mother-Of-Pearls Clouds
20 - The Hessdalen Lights
21 - St Elmo's Fire  
22 - Penitentes
23 - Explosive Lake Nyos

If you please, feel free to pay a visit to my blog and check out my short stories along with plenty of educational posts.   

     

Until my next post,
Steem on and keep smiling, people!