The rare flashes of light sometimes seen around earthquakes can take many forms: bluish flames that appear to come out of the ground at ankle height quick flashes of bright light that resemble regular lightning strikes, except they originate from the ground instead of the sky and the floating orbs known as ball lightning. Another study, published in 2016, suggests that microwave radiation produced when lightning strikes the ground could become encapsulated in a plasma bubble, resulting in ball lightning.īall lightning has also been associated with earthquakes. Atmospheric ions could pile up at the surface of a window, producing enough of an electrical field on the other side to generate a discharge. The presence of glass may generate ball lightning, according to another theory published in 2012. Elmo's Fire, the stationary glow that is sometimes confused with ball lightning. This ionized air, or plasma, is the same condition that enables St. The Lanzhou researchers' paper supports the theory that ball lightning results from a ground strike that creates a reaction between oxygen and vaporized elements from the soil. EDITOR'S NOTE: Along with his son, Paul, and storm chaser Carl Young-his longtime collaborators-National Geographic explorer and storm chaser Tim Samaras died in a tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma, on May 31, 2013. Using one of the world's fastest cameras, a National Geographic explorer attempts to capture the birth of a lightning bolt. The spectrometer detected silicon, iron, and calcium in the ball, all of which were also present in the local soil. The ball appeared just after a lightning strike and traveled horizontally for about 10 meters (33 feet). Researchers from Lanzhou, China's Northwest Normal University inadvertently recorded a ball lightning event while studying a 2012 thunderstorm using video cameras and spectrometers. That said, scientists seem to agree ball lightning is real, even if they don't yet fully understand what causes it. That and other early accounts suggest that ball lightning can be deadly.Īt least one study has theorized that about half of all ball lightning sightings are hallucinations caused by the magnetic fields during storms. One of the first recorded sightings of ball lightning occurred in 1638, when a " great ball of fire" came through the window of an English church. The heat causes surrounding air to rapidly expand and vibrate, which creates thunder. A lightning flash can heat the air around it to temperatures five times hotter than the sun’s surface. Lightning in general is an electrical discharge caused by positive and negative imbalances within clouds themselves, or between storm clouds and the ground. It's sometimes accompanied by a hissing sound and an acrid odor. The bizarre phenomenon, also known as globe lightning, usually appears during thunderstorms as a floating sphere that can range in color from blue to orange to yellow, disappearing within a few seconds. Original question from user Susan: I have always wondered about "heat lightning".Instances of ball lightning-glowing, electric orbs in the sky-have captivated and mystified us for centuries. A cordless phone is generally safe (indoors and away from windows, that is), since it is separated from the base unit. In addition, in rare instances a storm can produce a lightning bolt that originates high in the storm or high along it's side, and these strikes can reach the ground as much as ten miles away from the storm.įinally, regarding appliances indoors during a thunderstorm, the rule of thumb is that although the chances of being struck are small, you are in at least some danger if you are very near a device that is connected directly to a power source by way way of wiring or to the outside by way of metal plumbing, either of which could conduct a lighting surge inside. However, if the storm is moving in your direction and continues to produce lightning, it is of course possible to be struck. As for being struck by heat lightning, the odds are very low so long as it remains too far away to see the lightning path and hear thunder.
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