pmk@prometheus.UUCP (Paul M Koloc) (06/13/85)
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Article posted to net.general to request yet UNREPORTED description of
probable observation of Ball Lightning. Please refer this request to
others, and send description by mail to address below (signature lines).
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Ball lightning is magneto plasmoid that is some what analogous to a
soap bubble, except that the energy content (average internal pressure) is
five to fifteen times that of the atmospheric air. It generates dense mag-
netic fields through currents flowing helically in an internal plasma
toroid.
The vacuum poloidal field which surrounds and hugs the plasma ring,
tends to expand it. Countering this "hoop stress" is the toroidal field
within the ring which compresses the ring.
A soup bubble thin layer of relativistic electrons forms the
"impenetrable" highly conduction skin, which traps the external spheroidal
surface of the vacuum poloidal field, and a dense plasma formed by radia-
tion ionized air provides the external pressure need to keep the surface
current from being pushed outward. Thus equilibrium is achieved.
Ball lightnings can have a non-trivial external dipole magnetic field
as well, if things didn't go quite well during formation. So their move-
ments are governed by the air currents like an ordinary soap bubble, by
forces due to induction of image currents in the "nearly superconducting"
shell, and by magnetic field interactions with external ferromagnetic
materials, conducting surfaces or current bearing wires.
They can move at the speed of a soap bubble, or faster if "magneti-
cally pulled" or slower if there is some "magnetic drag" on the ball.
"Freely floating" ball lightnings drift with the air currents and have lit-
tle speed relative to the air velocity. These balls turn from yellow to
orangish or even red from the build up of nitrous oxides, ozone, and even
nitrogen pentoxide in the plasma Mantle.
In an encounter keep you distance; they are lethal or very damaging to
living things, especially those with nerves. Damage results from radiation
(euv and soft xrays), electron beam damage including some transmutation of
elements (affected matter becomes radioactive), and from EMP (image current
induction) which is generated when the currents disrupt dumping the remain-
ing magnetic energy in a few microseconds. This latter causes both per-
manent paralysis (including death) and temporary paralysis.
Most balls don't run down like a clock and go out with the noise of a
breaking soap bubble, instead the make a "boom" "crack" "pow" "ka-blam"
*10E9, so loud that people have been deafened and some may have been killed
by the concussion. An exploding dinky one generated enough image current
in a finger ring (on a women's hand brushing a bl away), that the ring
instantly heated to the point where it burned its way into the skin.
They're pretty easy to make, although the rather simple technique
isn't very obvious. If we get another $10k or $15k of uncommitted money
together we'll be able to crank up our experiment and have some fun these
"blowing magneto-plasmoid bubbles", and then publish.
If you have gotten this far and have seen bl or know of someone within
easy reach who has, please send a desription any of observation even though
it may not substantiate or contradict the above theory. If there is any
serious scientific or industrial interest, that you know of (no guesses
please), be so kind as to respond.
If you want some "bed time stories" reported ball lightning sightings, get:
"Lightning, Auroras, Nocturnal Lights, and related Luminous Phenomena"
compiled by: William Corliss
Bx 107, Glen Arm
MD 21057
(301) 668-6047 about $12 or $13.
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