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P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik

P 17: Astrophysical Plasmas

P 17.3: Talk

Thursday, March 31, 2022, 14:30–14:45, P-H11

Analysis of Ball Lightning observations aiming at an experimental verification — •Herbert Boerner — Mainz

Ball Lightning (BL) is still an unexplained phenomenon of atmospheric physics. There is no accepted theory explaining it, and there are no experiments that produce such objects in a laboratory. The only evidence available is through reports by accidental observers. In order to make progress in selecting theories that are consistent with the observations and in defining suitable experiments, it is important to select from the thousands of anecdotal reports those that are both reliable and that contain information on the physics involved. With this in mind, the following reports and properties will be considered: properties of BL objects that have been recorded consistently over many years, single, very well documented events, and individual reports by reliable observers. The first result is that Bl objects cannot be based on matter, they have to be a form of electromagnetic radiation. This conclusion is motivated by the fact that they can pass through dielectric objects like glass panes, and that they can move with velocities higher than the speed of sound. There are indications, that positive cloud-ground lightning (+CG) has a much higher probability to create these objects that negative CG lightning. Together with the fact that BL objects can be produced far away from lightning channels, this allows a rather good definition of the conditions under which such objects can be created. The importance of some properties of negative corona in air, mainly of Trichel pulses, and the role of free electrons is highlighted and an experimental setup is proposed.