Ball Lightning studied by scientists

[n2doc]

For centuries, people have reported seeing luminous, spherical orbs during storms — a phenomenon known as “ball lightning”. According to eyewitness reports they last for several seconds, moving through the air before eventually exploding.

But meteorologists have always regarded such reports with suspicion, as they’d never been able to observe the phenomenon themselves. Inconsistencies in public reports led those studying these cases starting to think of them like UFO sightings — merely hallucinations, perhaps caused by electromagnetic effects.

Now, however, following years of attempts to replicate ball lightning in the lab, Chinese researchers have finally recorded it in the field.

After a bolt of lightning hit the ground, a glowing ball about five metres wide rose up and travelled about 15 metres, before disappearing about 1.6 seconds later.

Stunned, the researchers packed up their kit and headed back to their lab, where they discovered that the elements in the ball were the same as those in the local soil — silicon, iron and calcium. They published their results in the journal Physical Review Letters.

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https://medium.com/looking-up/b594b6ffea37

https://d262ilb51hltx0.cloudfront.net/max/412/1*qTVPX4U4QyWj3lZKLG0row.jpeg

[newfie11]

1. When living in N. Virginia

My neighbor swore a ball lightening came in her front door (open) and exited the back door also open.
She was very serious and freaked out about it.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Yep, till "scientists" can measure it, it don't exist. No sirree.

I saw ball lightening as a kid. During a thunderstorm, a round glowing ball hit a wire fence and moved along the top of it for a couple seconds.
Parents had no clue what I was trying to tell them.
Later, thru the years, I have read about "no proof it exists".

Riight.........

[phantom power]

3. Should scientists *not* be suspicious of anecdotal observations they can't confirm?

Doesn't mean they weren't real. But if you can't reproduce it, confirm it, measure it, etc, what exactly should "science" have to say about it?

Notice that they are excited, now that they have something concrete to work with.

[Locut0s]

4. Skepticism, thank goodness for science...

They didn't say it didn't exist but that they were skeptical of it, there is a huge difference. Given the number of anecdotal sightings they have been looking for evidence of it for a long time. But indeed thank goodness for science until they have solid proof science is skeptical of everything. That's how it operates.

[MisterP]

5. heck, in the 1700s they thought the Spanish had hallucinated the whole of Tenochtitlan