Sunday 19 June 2011

What is ball lightning?

One of the most rare and mysterious forms of lightning is ball lightning.It is a ball of luminosity that usually occurs near the impact point of a flash and moves horizontally at a speed of a few centimetres per second.It can penetrate closed windows ,is usually accompanied by hissing sound and has a life time of several seconds.The colour is quite variable and the ball often ends with an explosion-however,it is not usually destructive.Also called as globe lightning,it occurs at at times of intense electrical activity in the atmosphere.These balls are said to be plasmas.(plasma is completely lonised state of matter,at high temperature,in which positive and negative ions freely move about).However,no theory has so far satisfactorily explained the behaviour of a ball as scientists have not been able to reproduce it in the laboratory.Lightning ball is comparatively rare sight and so next time you see it,take a picture.

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