For the Czech film, see Ball Lightning (film). For the Chinese novel, see Ball Lightning (novel).
A 1901 depiction of ball lightning
Ball lightning is a rare and unexplained phenomenon described as luminescent, spherical objects that vary from pea-sized to several meters in diameter. Though usually associated with thunderstorms,[1] the observed phenomenon is reported to last considerably longer than the split-second flash of a lightning bolt, and is a phenomenon distinct from St. Elmo's fire.
Some 19th-century reports[2][3] describe balls that eventually explode and leave behind an odor of sulfur. Descriptions of ball lightning appear in a variety of accounts over the centuries and have received attention from scientists.[4] An optical spectrum of what appears to have been a ball lightning event was published in January 2014 and included a video at high frame rate.[5][6] Laboratory experiments have produced effects that are visually similar to reports of ball lightning, but how these relate to the supposed phenomenon remains unclear.[7][8]
^Nunez, Christina (6 March 2019). "Ball lightning: weird, mysterious, perplexing, and deadly". www.nationalgeographic.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
^Cite error: The named reference Rowe1905 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Day1813 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Trimarchi, Maria (7 July 2008). "Does ball lightning really exist?". HowStuffWorks.com. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
^
Cen, Jianyong; Yuan, Ping; Xue, Simin (17 January 2014). "Observation of the Optical and Spectral Characteristics of Ball Lightning". Physical Review Letters. 112 (3): 035001. Bibcode:2014PhRvL.112c5001C. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.035001. PMID 24484145.
^
Slezak, Michael (16 January 2014). "Natural ball lightning probed for the first time". New Scientist. 221 (2953): 17. Bibcode:2014NewSc.221...17S. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(14)60173-1. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
^Letzter, Rafi (6 March 2018). "The 'Skyrmion' May Have Solved the Mystery of Ball Lightning". Live Science. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
^Manykin, E. A.; Zelener, B. B.; Zelener, B. V. (2010). "Thermodynamic and kinetic properties of nonideal Rydberg matter". Soviet Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics Letters. 92 (9): 630. Bibcode:2010JETPL..92..630M. doi:10.1134/S0021364010210125. S2CID 121748296.
Balllightning is a rare and unexplained phenomenon described as luminescent, spherical objects that vary from pea-sized to several meters in diameter...
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U.K. Atomic Energy Research Establishment, as a possible cause for balllightning (Ashby & Whitehead 1971). They monitored the sky with gamma-ray detection...
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October 1638, when the church of St Pancras was apparently struck by balllightning during a severe thunderstorm. An afternoon service was taking place...
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activity. Other types may be due to combustion of flammable gases, balllightning, meteors, torches and other human-made fires, the misperception of human...
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lights. Magnetophosphenes have been proposed as an explanation for balllightning. "ReviseMRI.com : Magnetophosphenes". Weintraub MI, Khoury A, Cole SP...
Light ball may refer to: Balllightning Flare This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Light ball. If an internal link led you...
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