Spinning electric dipole model of ball lightning

Endean, V. G.

doi:10.1049/ip-a-3.1993.0072

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Plasma models have proved popular for several decades but, like the others, only offer hints with respect to certain types of property. Recent plasma models, for example those of Endean (1993Endean ( , 1997 and of Witalis (1990Witalis ( , 1994, seek non-chemical ways round the virial theorem problem. The factors they consider may well be important in the formation stages of some ball lightning and in explaining the behaviour of fastmoving ball lightning.…”

Section: Interpretational Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fragmented science of ball lightning (with comment)

Turner¹

2001

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Seri

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All the apparent anomalies in ball lightning behaviour seem to result from electrochemical processes which arise at the surface of a wet air plasma. The structure and stability of an established lightning ball are maintained by these processes and the ball operates as a thermochemical heat pump powered by the electric field of a thunderstorm. Movements result from asymmetries in the various fields which control the structure. In addition to electric, electromagnetic and gravitational fields, temperature, pressure and compositional gradients can be involved. Electrochemistry provides a framework within which specific properties can be considered using better developed or more appropriate disciplines. Several commonly made assumptions and approximations are identified which can be invalid under the specific conditions which favour ball lightning stability. If any of these limitations is ignored, seriously misleading conclusions may result. The range of power associated with lightning balls is ill defined but may vary continuously between that of globes which lack a bright centre and that of normal lightning. Our failure to contain plasmas electrochemically for more than a few seconds probably reflects our inability to balance (or even measure) the various fields which govern a ball's stability. All the fields may need to be controlled before electrochemistry can usefully be employed to contain plasmas.

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Section: Interpretational Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fragmented science of ball lightning (with comment)

Turner¹

2001

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Seri

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“…However, no sources for the creation of such a field have been found in nature. Attempts to "construct" ball lightning in the form of a bubble filled with radiation 38,39 also do not solve this problem: along with the electromagnetic field, the "material" wall of the bubble must somehow pass through the glass. In recent years, new results from solving Maxwell's equations have aroused some interest, according to which spherical configurations of electromagnetic fields with a zero radial component of the Poynting vector can exist.…”

Section: Passage Of Ball Lightning Through "Intact" Glassmentioning

confidence: 99%

Traces of the action of ball lightning as material for studying its structure

I Nikitin

2023

PAIJ

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According to observations, at the site of the ball lightning disappearance there are no traces left except a cloud of vapor. This reduces the number of materials for its formation in nature to air and water molecules. It is shown that, using these materials, it is possible to create a model of ball lightning with an energy reserve with a density up to 1010 J/m3. Ball lightning has an electrical charge and mass. It is capable of heating water, tearing off bark from trees, jumping on the ground, cutting discs in glass, and melting holes in metal barriers. An explanation for this behavior of ball lightning is given.

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“…If it is not able to reproduce all BL properties, this model has the merit of showing how environmental conditions and plasma chemical composition can be responsible for the global behavior, and how electrochemical models can be improved through the assumption of plasma scenarios. A model based on a very rapid, rotating electric dipole was proposed by Endean [43] with zero net current. The radial rotating electric field gives high-energy containment, overcoming the limitation of the virial theorem since, for electrostatically charged plasmoid without a magnetic field, the electric pressure at the surface is negative and the virial constraint is relaxed.…”

Section: Ball Lightning As An Electric Dischargementioning

confidence: 99%

The Riddle of Ball Lightning: A Review

Donoso

Trueba

Rañada

2006

The Scientific World JOURNAL

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One of the most intriguing and enduring scientific challenges is to find an explanation for ball lightning, the shining fireballs that sometimes appear near lightning strokes. Although many theoretical ideas have been proposed and much experimental work has been performed, there is not yet an accepted explanation of their amazing properties. They are surprisingly stable, lasting up to 10 s, even minutes in some rare cases. By night, their appearance can be spectacular, but their brilliance is just similar to that of a home electric bulb. Most of the time, their motion is smooth and horizontal, but it can also be erratic and chaotic; they can penetrate indoors through window panes. We review here some of the most discussed approaches, including both theoretical models to find an explanation as well as experimental efforts to reproduce them in the laboratory. We distinguish between chemical and physical models, depending on whether their stability is mainly based on their chemical composition or on purely physical phenomena involving electromagnetic fields and plasmas.

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Spinning electric dipole model of ball lightning

Cited by 8 publications

References 9 publications

The fragmented science of ball lightning (with comment)

The fragmented science of ball lightning (with comment)

Traces of the action of ball lightning as material for studying its structure

The Riddle of Ball Lightning: A Review

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