RE: Ball Lightining (was- Christmas Tree Musings)

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "John H. Couture by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <couturejh-at-mgte-dot-com>


Ed -

There was no molten copper bouncing on the floor as in some so-called
fireball tests. The damage to the buss bars was negligible, only a few
grains if any copper must have been involved. The basketball sized fireball
hovered in the air above the buss bars for a couple seconds then
disappeared. I believe this can be duplicated at any time if the conditions
are exactly the same. There is very little energy expended because of the
ultra short time peroid. Typical short circuit opening devices require too
much time for fireballs to occur.

John Couture

-------------------------------

-----Original Message-----
From: Tesla list [mailto:tesla-at-pupman-dot-com]
Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2001 10:33 AM
To: tesla-at-pupman-dot-com
Subject: Re: Ball Lightining (was- Christmas Tree Musings)


Original poster: "Ed Phillips by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<evp-at-pacbell-dot-net>

Tesla list wrote:
>
> Original poster: "John H. Couture by way of Terry Fritz
<twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <couturejh-at-mgte-dot-com>
>
> Steve -
>
> I can tell you how to make basketball size ball lightning on demand
because
> I have done it - accidentally. It takes a 750 KVA power transformer that
is
> short circuited and then instantaneously disconnected. The fast
> disconnection is the secret. In my case a loose large bolt fell across
> energized copper buss bars in switchgear I was testing. The bolt was
> immediately thrown off the buss bars by the short circuit current forces.
> The plasma ball that was formed lasted only about 2 seconds and then
> disappeared with no noise. The buss bars had only small nicks due to some
> fusing. The electrician and I were shook up to say the least.
>
> John Couture

	I would be "all shook up" too!  I suspect that the ball you observed
had a core of molten copper, which perhaps bounded along the floor
leaving burn marks as it went.

	On the subject of "ball lightning", I have seen it twice.  In both
cases I happened to be out in the open during a summer thunder storm and
was looking directly at a tree when it was hit by a lightning bolt.
After the flash I could see a string of folden ball-like objects
floating in the sky.  In retrospect, I am positive that these were an
illusion created by retinal fatigue.

Ed