Ball lightning, also known as spherical lightning, is a very rare type of lightning that is unknown to many people. Often, they have been confused and attributed to phenomena that had nothing to do with lightning because of how much they differ in their behavior. Even though they have always existed, was not studied until 2012 for the first time in a region of ChinaSome researchers stumbled upon ball lightning by chance.
The researchers found a red ball that "burned" for a few seconds in the sky, had a diameter of approximately 5 meters, then vanished. They found that when this type of lightning is formed, some minerals from the soil are evaporated. They usually contain silicon, which under extreme conditions form silicon filaments. These filaments burn with oxygen in the air, creating that ball that the researchers saw. However, it is such a rare phenomenon that it is not fully proven that it is for this reason, and other explanations have been attempted.
Video and some records that have been taken
Attempt to recreate a globular ray in the laboratory
One of them dates from 1908, a Russian explorer named Vladimir Arseniev. In his book «In the mountains of the Sijoté-Alín», he talks about his testimony of a globular ray. Vladimir explains how he was in a forest, it was a quiet day, everything was calm, and he saw that spark appear. He describes it as a matte white light, averaging about 20 / 30cm. The ball in this case lasted for a long time. He tells how he was moving very close to the ground, near trees and bushes, but never coming into contact with them, as if he were avoiding them. The ball approached him, and about 10 meters from him he could observe it carefully. It had like layers, the outer one opened about twice, revealing a bluish light inside.
A very particular case occurred in the city of Rosario, Argentina, on February 25, 2012. One of these rays entered the kitchen, the witness witnessed how it exploded inside her, causing her mother to fall to the ground. The newspapers were quickly filled with stories, and neighbors also reported this phenomenon. This type of ball lightning They have attracted attention both for their rarity and for the reports of their occurrence.
There is also a case of a spark (globular lightning) in the aisle of an airplane with passengers inside. Or this one that did manage to be filmed the summer of this past year, in the region of Siberia.
Something that continues to draw attention today and that prevents a strong scientific explanation from being given and where there is still a debate, is the way in which these phenomena occur, and the great longevity they have. Still, there are several theories.
Hypothesis on the formation of the globular ray
Although for a long time the phenomenon was considered a myth, after 3000 testimonials and documentations where the sources and their explanations of what they have seen vary widely, today it is already treated as a real and unusual phenomenon. As we have commented, I do not know exactly how it happens. But there are some theories:
Highly ionized plasma
One of them is that the spherical beam can be a plasma highly ionized by self-generated magnetic fields. But it is not a very convincing theory, if so, the gas that makes it up should be very hot. This would make it very light, and would make it rise. Furthermore, a hot plasma combined with a magnetic field would not make it last as long as it does.
Special forms of plasma
In this case, a type of plasma can be composed of positive and negative ions, rather than positive ions and electrons. So recombination can be very slow, which would make it plausible that they would last that long. Also, it could be room temperature so it wouldn't be as light and it could happen close to the ground, as we've seen. These rays would also be produced by materials found in the ground, for example silicon (as we said at the beginning of the article), due to the evaporation of these if a lightning strike fell but did not touch the ground.
Globular rays are undoubtedly a demonstration that there are still many mysteries to be solved and that they are happening. Who knows if from now on strange phenomena will continue to be documented that have only been attributed to people who have dreamed it and are real. It will be something that we will discover over time. From Meteorology Network we will be aware of the new findings, and we will continue to share them.
