Ball Lightning An Unsolved Problem in Atmospheric Physics This page intentionally left blank. Ball Lightning An Unsolved Problem in Atmospheric Physics Mark Stenhoff B.Sc., M.Phil. (Lond.), C.Phys., M.lnst.P., F.R.A.S., F.R.Met.S. Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow eBookISBN: 0-306-47092-6 Print ISBN: 0-306-46150-1 ©2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow Print ©1999 Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers New York All rights reserved No part of this eBook may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written consent from the Publisher Created in the United States of America Visit Kluwer Online at: http://kluweronline.com and Kluwer's eBookstore at: http://ebooks.kluweronline.com Foreword: Ball Lightning Looking back at twentieth-century science, one may discern three broad frontiers of research—the very large, the very small, and the very complex. Thus astronomy and cosmology continue to spring surprises in the form of puzzling new objects in the depths of the universe. In the microscopic realm, particle physicists have struggled to make sense of a plethora of subatomic fragments. Finally, the burgeoning subject of complexity theory hints at deep linkages between physics and biology, and touches on topics as diverse and bewildering as chaos, turbulence, and even ecology. We are so used to dramatic developments being concentrated in these three frontier categories that it comes as a bit of a surprise to find an unexplained phenomenon that falls outside of any of them. Ball lightning isn’t very large, very small, or seemingly very complex, yet it has baffled some of the best investigators in the business. Here, it seems, under our very noses, is the sort of mystery that should have been solved a century ago, but wasn’t. I have never witnessed ball lightning personally, but I have read many reports of it and interviewed a number of witnesses. Although it can take a variety of forms, a typical lightning ball is a glowing sphere a few centimeters across that floats across ground for a few seconds before either fading away or exploding. Most alarming of all are those cases where a ball is seen inside a room or even in an aircraft. The bizarre nature ofthephenomenon has led to acertain amount ofneglect in scientific circles. Some years ago it was common for scientist to pooh-pooh the whole subject. Attempts were made to explain ball lightning reports away as optical illusion, will o’ the wisps, or hoaxes. Today, however, the weight of evidence is compelling that a genuine unexplained physical phenomenon underlies the majority of sightings. v vi Foreword: Ball Lightning Hardest to understand is how such a large amount of energy can be confined in a spherical form and remain stable for so long. Although estimates are rather unreliable, some lightning balls appear to pack a lot of punch, and can cause serious injury and damage. There have been many attempts to model ball lightning as some sort of energetic glowing plasma trapped by suitably configured electric and magnetic fields. Ironically, physicists have for years tried to confine hot plasmas electromagnetically, in order to create a controlled nuclear fusion reaction that might serve as a potential power supply. After 40 years of effort, their attempts are still plagued by plasma instabilities. Yet if the reports of ball lightning are to be believed, nature has found a way to create stable plasma balls without any sophis- ticated equipment. The phenomenon becomes really puzzling when the peculiar properties of ball lightning are examined. How is a ball of plasma able to pass through a window pane without disruption? Or glide down the aisle of an aircraft? Why should such a ball shoot up a chimney, roll along electric power lines, or bounce along the ground? What produces the curious hissing or sizzling sound reported in some sighting? MarkStenhoffis aphysicistwho has alongprofessional association withthe subject of ball lightning and related phenomena. He has personally studied a great many cases and thoroughly researched the literature. In this book he provides us with a welcome review of the phenomenon and the different theories put forward to explain it. He relates some of the more startling incidents in a sober and methodical fashion, and makes some useful suggestions for how our understanding ofthemysterycanbeadvanced. The subject of ball lightning falls on the edge of what we might call respectable science. Because ball lightning has so far proved impossible to recreate in the laboratory (aside from some very short-lived small balls), most of the information available has been gleaned from eyewitness reports. Since members of the public, when presented with an unexpected and alarming phenomenon, are notoriously unreliable, it is hard to know how much credence to give the details of the reports. Might the witnesses have exaggerated the size, duration, or brightness of the ball? Could the reported damage have been caused by something else, like an associated conventional lightning strike? It must be remembered that untrained observers also report flying saucers, ghosts, poltergeists, and alien beings. Are scientists supposed to take these seriously too? Indeed, Stenhoff points out that some reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) bear many of the hallmarks of ball lightning, so if the puzzle of ball lightning is solved, then at least some UFOs may become IFOs (identified flying objects). In spite of its slightly wacky overtones, ball lightning deserves to be taken seriously. There can be little doubt that some interesting and as yet ill-understood physical phenomenon is taking place, and we may learn some very interesting physics by studying the reports more carefully. Foreword: Ball lightning vii Ball lightning researchers are fond of citing the case of meteorite falls, long derided by scientists as stories by crackpots, but eventually accepted as a real astronomical phenomenon. The comparison is pertinent. Both meteorites and ball lightning are unpredictable, alarming, and transient, and both emanate from the sky, the source of so many mysteries. A vast amount of important scientific information has been gleaned from the study of meteorites. A similar cornucopia may await us in the phenomenon of ball lightning. Paul Davies Adelaide, South Australia *Paul Davies was formerly Professor of Natural Philosophy at The University of Adelaide. He took early retirement from the university to devote himself full-time to his popular book writing and media activities. This page intentionally left blank. Preface Down comes a deluge of sonorous hail, Or prone-descending rain. Wide-rent, the clouds Pour a whole flood, and yet, its flame unquenched, Th’unconquerable lightning struggles through. Ragged and fierce, or in red whirling balls, And fires the mountains with redoubled rage. Black from the stroke, above, the smould’ring pine Standsasadshatteredtrunk; and,stretchedbelow, Alifeless grouptheblastedcattlelie. JamesThompson, “TheSeasons”(1727) Ihave been investigating ball lightning for more than two decades. I published a ball lightning report in Naturein 1976 that received worldwide publicity and consequently many people wrote to me with accounts of their own experiences. Within a very short time, I had accumulated about 200 firsthand accounts, and the file has continued to grow steadily since then. Several things impressed me. Few of those who wrote to me had any detailed foreknowledge of ball lightning at the time of their observation. Nonetheless, once reports of other phenomena such as St. Elmo’s fire had been eliminated, the remaining descriptions were remarkably consistent. Furthermore, nearly all who contacted me were keen to have an explanation of what they had seen and seemed entirely sincere. Most of my ball lightning research has been at the grassroots level of analyzing eyewitness reports and conducting field visits. For several years, I was director of the Ball Lightning Division of the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO). TORRO continues to do invaluable work in documenting various interesting meteorological phenomena, and its publication, the Journal of Meteor- ology, has become one of the most popular journals in which to publish ball ix