An Introduction to ball lightning

by Albino Carbognani - Department of Physics - University of Parma
Parma, 24 february 1998

for comments and informations:
albino@prix7.pr.infn.it

Among the phenomena known to geophysicists, that of ball lightning (BL) is one of the least understood, even though it has been studied for more than a century and a half. Precisely because of the nature of the phenomenon, the data gathered come exclusively from eye-witness observations. However, in recent years the BL phenomenon has been "rediscovered" by the scientific community, and greater efforts are being made to understand it. The article examines the main physical properties of BL, and illustrates the results of visual observations taken from current scientific literature. Physical parameters are discussed, as are similarities and differences between meteorites and BL, which can be mistaken for one another. In conclusion, the main theories suggested to interpret the BL phenomenon are reviewed, together with the partially successful attempts made to replicate BL in laboratories. An extensive bibliography of recent articles published in major international scientific journals is also given.