A group of specialists from Northwestern University of China under the leadership of Professor Tsen Jian Yong conducted observations in the highlands of Tibet.
Quite by chance, during a severe thunderstorm, they witnessed the appearance of a gigantic ball lightning, about five meters in diameter, and their spectrometer managed to record the chemical composition of its main elements.
Chinese scientists, thanks to a fortunate coincidence, managed to investigate the chemical composition of the main elements of ball lightning. These are substances such as silicon, iron and calcium, which are common in the soil.
On this basis, Chinese physicists said that they were able to confirm the hypothesis put forward in 2000 by New Zealand scientist John Abrahamson, who suggested that when lightning strikes the ground, a sudden and strong increase in temperature quickly evaporates oxides of silicon, iron and other elements from the soil. And the shock wave throws the resulting gas into the air, forming a ball. That is, the mystery of ball lightning, according to Chinese physicists, can be considered solved.
In addition, another curious fact was discovered. Fluctuations in the glow of ball lightning were about 100 hertz, although they should be half as much. It is possible that the extra 50 hertz could have been added by a nearby power line. She could have caused the abnormally large size of the ball. Usually it ranges from one to several tens of centimeters.
One of the leading Russian experts in the study of the phenomenon of ball lightning, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences from Moscow State University. Lomonosov Vladimir Bychkov is convinced that Chinese scientists have not received convincing data on the origin of ball lightning from an ordinary lightning strike into the soil. Bychkov is not alone in his doubts. Thus, the world-renowned scientific journal Nature refused to publish an article by Chinese scientists, it was published in a less prestigious publication.
According to Professor Bychkov, the situation with ball lightning has practically not changed for many years. Today, there are hundreds of theories that explain its origin. Many famous scientists offered their versions, in particular, the Nobel laureate Pyotr Kapitsa. However, so far no theory has become generally accepted.
