In addition to simple linear lightning, sometimes a person encounters ball lightning. Ball lightning occupies one of the key places among all the mysteries related to "flying saucers". For a long time, scientists did not want to admit the very fact of the existence of such an unusual natural phenomenon, even though information about ball lightning has been known since antiquity. At the same time, no one was fortunate enough to give an intelligible answer to the question: what exactly is ball lightning? To date, a lot of materials on this topic have been collected, but there are very few new facts that were unknown in the past. The only thing, perhaps, that we can confidently say that this phenomenon exists. This is a formation that glows brightly, hangs motionless in the air or moves smoothly. Sometimes ball lightning disappears calmly and quietly, as if someone turns it off, but more often it explodes, destroying everything around it. Modern scientists were able to assess and analyze the physical parameters of this phenomenon and due to this, they came a little closer to the scientific definition of the nature of this phenomenon.
It should be noted that not every person in life encounters ball lightning - only one person in a thousand can face this unusual natural phenomenon throughout his life. And only a few of those who have met with ball lightning can clearly and coherently describe it. However, in February 2001, the residents of Armavir witnessed a unique case. Suddenly, the city was hit by a thunderstorm and snowfall at the same time. During the disaster, people saw small-sized fireballs in the sky, which seemed to be painting some kind of picture in the sky. As it turned out, these were ball lightning. Fortunately, none of the people were hurt then. But a resident of Chelyabinsk, tram driver Tatyana Trosemuk, was much less fortunate. The woman finished her shift late in the evening. There were few passengers. Suddenly a wind started on the street and something sparkled. First,what the woman thought - it was necessary to turn on the light. However, an explosion suddenly thundered, but the woman did not see what exploded, because she covered her head with her hands. The most interesting thing is that later no burns were found on her hands, although her hair was badly burned. The woman braked abruptly and moved into the flaming salon. The people managed to escape. As eyewitnesses later said, for some time the ball lightning flew near the cockpit, after which it penetrated through the glass. And Tatiana suffered from terrible headaches for three months. The woman braked abruptly and moved into the flaming salon. The people managed to escape. As eyewitnesses later said, for some time the ball lightning flew near the cockpit, after which it penetrated through the glass. And Tatiana suffered from terrible headaches for three months. The woman braked abruptly and moved into the flaming salon. The people managed to escape. As eyewitnesses later said, for some time the ball lightning flew near the cockpit, after which it penetrated through the glass. And Tatiana suffered from terrible headaches for three months.
There are a lot of cases when ball lightning appeared next to this type of transport. So, in particular, a similar incident occurred in Ulyanovsk. When the driver noticed the fireball, she asked the passengers to empty the cabin, and after a few seconds a fireball sparkled under its bottom. After another moment, the salon collapsed and burned down. Something similar happened in Kazan, but instead of a tram there was a trolleybus. By the evening, the weather worsened sharply, a downpour with a strong wind began. Suddenly, a fireball appeared next to the trolleybus, which swam through the window into the cabin and began to slowly move towards the driver, who was just checking tickets using an electronic device. But the driver was not taken aback and with this device deflected lightning into the part of the passenger compartment where there were no people. An explosion instantly thundered. None of the two dozen passengers were injured, but neither the trolleybus nor the device worked anymore.
There are many recorded cases when, during the explosion of ball lightning, thick power lines broke off, concrete telegraph poles broke like matches, and deep pits were formed.
Several decades ago, in 1965, Vasily Chernoryasov, a grandfather from the Tver region, also survived a meeting with ball lightning. He was walking in the field, when suddenly a ball of fire appeared in front of him. The grandfather quickly got his bearings and lay face down on the ground. The lightning swept across the old man's back and disappeared without a trace. They found him late in the evening, Vasily was paralyzed. However, a few weeks later, the paralysis passed, and with it, the osteochondrosis that tormented my grandfather for two decades.
As the researchers note, it is much easier to escape from ball lightning than from ordinary lightning. However, fatalities occur periodically. So, for example, when ball lightning struck a tree in the Pskov region, more than two dozen sheep and five cows died. The tree itself, which was large enough, shattered into pieces.
Some researchers who are studying the phenomenon of this natural phenomenon argue that it is an independent form of life and even more, it is endowed with reason. So, in particular, according to the academician of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vlail Kaznacheev, in addition to the usual form, there is also its field variety. As the scientist notes, this is a certain energetic substance of the plasma type that has intelligence.
For many years, scientists from many countries of the world have been struggling to solve the phenomenon of ball lightning, but all their efforts have been unsuccessful. All this led to the fact that some researchers were even inclined to think that such a phenomenon does not exist in nature at all. And only at the beginning of the 19th century, a physicist from France Arago collected quite a lot of observations, on the basis of which he came to the conclusion that this natural phenomenon is a reality. The theory of the French physicist was confirmed by the Russian academician I. Stakhanov, who in 1973 suggested that ball lightning is a charge surrounded by a plasma shell. He collected more than two hundred observations, which served as the basis for scientific research. However, the scientist did not manage to bring his business to its logical conclusion, because he suddenly died in 1997.
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Since that time, this problem has hardly been investigated, so a lot of this problem remains unclear.
Ball lightning is known to emit bright light, but their temperature is not enough for this. So, in particular, the doctor from Kazan V. Varsonofiev wrote to Stakhanov that the ball lightning, the diameter of which reached 30 centimeters, fell under the chair under it. His legs were partially immersed in this ball, but the man did not feel any warmth. After that, the ball went to the battery and touched it, hissing and melting the iron a few millimeters.
As the researchers note, another paradox is the fact that the substance that makes up ball lightning is similar in density to gas, but at the same time it has a rigid surface. Moreover, this substance is a plasma that can exist at room temperature. Thus, the closest relative of ball lightning is the sun. Consequently, it turns out that ball lightning cannot exist, however … they still exist.
This phenomenon periodically occurs in the immediate vicinity of linear lightning. Sometimes they appear from radios, electrical outlets, electrical appliances, telephones, televisions, and other metal conductors. In most cases, this phenomenon is similar in shape to a ball, but sometimes you can see ball lightning in the form of a spindle, ring, disk and even a pear. Lightning hovers in the air, changing the direction of movement. Moving lightning can settle, and motionless lightning can break, becoming mobile. Large ball lightning can break up into several small balls. They are able to seep through cracks and small holes, severely deformed and regaining their original shape. There is ample evidence of how ball lightning seeped through walls, plywood, glass, leaving a neat hole without damaging the rest.
If we talk about the glow of ball lightning, then here too there are many contradictions: light blue, and bright white, and brown-brown, and blue-green are mentioned. Fixed lightning - emit white light, while movable lightning - reddish. In addition, when ball lightning moves, it can make various sounds: whistle, hum, hiss, click and even howl. After the disappearance of this phenomenon in the place where it was, a bluish haze, sharply smelling of ozone, persists for some time.
According to experts, ball lightning can cause not only serious, but even fatal injuries. The overall picture is almost the same as an electric shock. The severity of the blow depends more on the electrical discharge of the surrounding objects and air humidity than on the lightning itself.
The study of the phenomenon of this natural phenomenon is to a certain extent unique, since this phenomenon has no generally accepted explanation. For this reason, researchers are trying to create ball lightning in a laboratory. However, even then, scientists will not be able to accurately answer the question: is the obtained sample of ball lightning of natural origin similar?
In the past, it has been argued that the appearance of ball lightning is associated with the release of detonating gas. Then came the theory that it was a miniature atomic bomb gradually radiating energy. And finally, they started talking about plasma - the fourth state of matter, consisting of charged ions. Academician Pyotr Kapitsa in 1955 tried to explain the appearance of ball lightning by the appearance of short radio waves between the earth's surface and thunderclouds, which feed the energy of ball lightning.
It must be said that in addition to ball and ordinary linear lightning, there are also more rare phenomena - clear and rocket lightning. True, they are extremely rare. The most interesting thing is that these phenomena are perceived by scientists as classical "flying saucers". Undoubtedly, a large role in this perception is assigned to the media, which often present ball lightning as the most real unidentified objects. And, I must admit, these are no less mysterious than UFOs.