Re: Anyone ever successful with Ball Lightning generation here . . . .

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

Original poster: "Malcolm Watts by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <m.j.watts-at-massey.ac.nz>

Hi D.C.,
         This is the second time I recall you posting this 
information to the list and as before, my imagination and interest 
level soar upwards.

On 6 Sep 2002, at 11:35, Tesla list wrote:

> Original poster: "D.C. Cox by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>"
<resonance-at-jvlnet-dot-com>
> 
> 
> I agree with Terry.  A TC probably isn't the best way to go to produce ball
> lightning.
> 
> A Marx impulse generator would be the logical approach.
> 
> A kids, we used to watch ball lightning form on a regular basis as a
> thunderstorm approached under the "V" of a ground wire on a 600 ft. tall FM
> transmitting tower in the Baraboo Bluffs.  It would grow in size and finally
> break off and float around for 20-30 sec.  Some lasted as long as a minute.
> Some would break off and actually come at us.  We ducked behind something
> but as kids we thought it was great fun.  No one ever got burned or
> anything.
> 
> There was always a huge pile of dry leaves sucked up near the base of the
> tower after the ball lightning formed which leads me to believe it is a DC
> or electrostatic effect.  The FM power was only 10 kw so that isn't very
> much.
> 
> The grounding was changed after one ball came through a wall and nearly
> almost hit the radio station's engineer.  They got sick of it terrorizing
> their children as they lived in a small home in the transmitter shack under
> the tower.  Rebonding the grounds changed something and no one has seen it
> since.
> 
> Dr. Resonance

It seems to me that the original setup would provide a unique 
laboratory for studying BL given that there seems to be no way of 
producing it on demand in the lab. What do you think are the chances 
of either getting use of the transmitter and mast for research 
purposes or building a facility with the same properties somewhere in 
the vicinity so that measurements might be made? I realize this is 
not a trivial exercise but given the endless rounds of speculation in 
a plethora of labs, the interest that a variety of groups might have 
in anything that's learned and the general public and scientific 
interest in such a venture, it would seem on the face of it to be a 
highly worthwhile exercise. I think we, as a Tesla community with, at 
minimum, a passing interest in this phenomenon should support 
something like this. I for one would be *very* keen to see this issue 
addressed and quantified once and for all and it seems that a unique 
opportunity is going begging. Moreover, should such a facility exist 
and be "reasonably" prolific in BL production, I would personally go 
to see it in action for myself. 

Best Regards,
malcolm