Recently, M. Dmitriev, doctor of chemical sciences, head of the laboratory of the Institute of General and Communal Hygiene, has greatly increased his work. The number of fireballs in the country has increased dramatically. And Mikhail Timofeevich, with the scrupulousness inherent in scientists, tries to record as detailed and thoroughly as possible under what circumstances, when, where the mysterious heavenly wanderer appeared. The fact is that he is the only one in our country, and, perhaps, in the world, a hunter for ball lightning. His unique collection contains about ten thousand descriptions of this amazing natural phenomenon.
- Meetings with ball lightning, - says Mikhail Timofeevich, - sometimes lead to such consequences that you simply wonder. Here is an example from the Stavropol Territory. During a severe thunderstorm, a ball of fire the size of a soccer ball bounced along the street. On contact with the ground, he knocked out holes half a meter deep and one and a half in diameter. Thus, the ball riddled the entire street for two blocks. Then it exploded with a noise and went into the sky like a fiery jet. The most annoying thing is that the street was asphalted just before that. Local residents have been trying to achieve this for a long time - and on you.
But not all meetings with lightning end so well. Tourists, serious people went hiking. After a while, their bodies were found around the tent. It was evident that they died in terrible agony. Several details indicated that fireball was involved in their deaths. The fact is that some types of lightning can be poisonous and emit harmful substances. Another incident happened with a father and son. They went to the mountains in winter. Father walked away from the parking lot for a while. When he returned, his son seemed to have sunk through the earth. And from the footprints in the snow it is clear that he did not leave anywhere and no one approached him. Again, they restored the picture in detail: a powerful ball lightning, apparently, upon meeting the young man, simply incinerated him.
At one time, one of the heavenly strangers ended up in a naphthalene storage at the Makeyevka coke-chemical production. The damage has been considerable. And when the fireball hit the television antenna on the house of one of the residents of the village of Chervlenoe in the Volgograd region, the explosion simply swept the roof of the dwelling. There are as many such small "hooliganisms" of ball lightning registered. She melts rails, kills cattle, sets fire to furniture, breaks equipment.
There are no reliable means of combating ball lightning. Conventional lightning rods do not work on it, or rather, it does not react to them. Therefore, there is always concern about oil and gas storage facilities. By the way, in an average city during a major thunderstorm, up to ten fires occur precisely because of the action of ball lightning.
People who have been injured when meeting with fireball are seriously ill. Doctors do not yet have ways to combat the diseases it causes. The symptoms of the disease are the same as those that occur with strong radiation exposure and damage to the central nervous system.
Many experiments have been carried out to investigate the nature of ball lightning. But there is still no definitive answer. According to one hypothesis, this is antimatter that penetrates to us from space. On the other, it is the result of focusing cosmic rays by clouds. And according to the assumption of Academician P. Kapitsa, a special area of the atmosphere that concentrates the radio wave radiation of thunderclouds.
It has been found that ball lightning can be not only in the form of a luminous, bright formation. There are both invisible and black fireballs. They are even mentioned in the literature: "A petrel flies proudly, like black lightning." Kuprin's story is called "Black Lightning". I managed to remove the "black lightning". In the photograph, it seems to consist of mysterious threads woven into a ball. The temperature of ball lightning reaches 10-15 thousand degrees. Very often it has some kind of microwave radiation. There are many known cases of pilots who, upon encountering ball lightning, fainted due to exposure to radiation. In a word, while this phenomenon is a complete mystery to us.
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In one of the regions of England, regular circles were found in wheat fields. It was assumed that these are traces of the landings of alien ships. I believe that in this case too we are dealing with manifestations of the action of ball lightning. I myself have often been to the places over which the path of ball lightning ran. The grass under them died, died, and the trail was clearly read. The same explanation is quite possible here.
By the way, ball lightning can really explain many phenomena. Let's say they are not the reason for the disappearance of the teams on the "Flying Dutchmen". Or the question is often asked: who sets fire to forests? Perhaps ball lightning. They are formed not only during thunderstorms, but also on ordinary sunny days.
I hope that, having unraveled the nature of ball lightning, mankind will get in its hands some new tool for understanding the world around it, transforming it.
Man has always been attracted by secrets. Scientists, in fact, are only engaged in solving the mysteries of nature. This is a fascinating activity - to gain new knowledge. Ball lightning contains an enormous amount of energy. What if you use it for practical purposes? Let's say, as a powerful light source. Hanging over our northern cities in the polar night - here's a mini-sun for you. And, say, the explosive force could be directed to moving rocks, building tunnels and dams. By the way, there is already a practical benefit from studying the nature of ball lightning. For example, on the basis of its study, we have designed devices that allow us to determine the degree of pollution of the atmospheric air, purifying waste gases in industry. As you can see, this is not such a fantasy - everything big starts small.
When meeting with ball lightning, you should not run away, rush and generally make any sudden movements. You need to hold your breath, but at the same time pick up some, not metal, object and put it in front of you. If the fireball does stick to it, carefully lay it down on the ground. Never hit the ball lightning. By the way, an interesting detail: shooting has no effect on her. In a word, try to behave intelligently with a mysterious stranger and, I hope, she will not offend you.
From the book: "SECRETS OF THE TWENTY CENTURY". I. I. Mosin