Re: Ball lightning - Terry's thoughts....

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Malcolm Watts" <m.j.watts@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

On 6 Aug 2005, at 21:14, Tesla list wrote:

> Original poster: Terry Fritz <vardin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Hi,
>
> At 07:15 PM 8/6/2005, you wrote:
> >.... Maybe we should plan
> > > ahead for the next sighting.
> >
> >And hopefully such sightings will eventually lead us
> >to the lab where it can be reliably reproduced.
> >
> >-Brett
>
>
> That is indeed the "Holy Grail" of ball lightning...  To have a
> "machine" that can pump out ball lighting, just like Lawrence Welk's
> bubble machines...
>
>
> I have been trying.  But my 3 year old project is 2.99 years behind
> now...
>
> So, I will "spill" my "secrets" incase anyone cares and it might help
> out to accomplish the task...
>
>
> My idea was that ball lighting is "super heated" "stuff".  Wood,
> plastic, dirt,...  It does not matter much....
>
> "Suddenly "superheat" it" to say 20,000 degrees...  Lighting can do
> that!! ;-))
>
> Unlike say wood at only 400 degrees, a chunk of wood suddenly
> (microseconds) "promoted" to 20,000 degrees might turn into a flaming
> ball of stuff that might float around for a moment as all the
> materials decide what end combustion products and chemical states they
> are going to end up as...
>
> One would need a capacitor, of the can crusher variety, that could
> supply 500K amp currents and a Tesla coil to initiate the "arc over"
> (needs big voltage).
>
> So you put your organic material between the electrodes of the can
> crusher style super current capacitors and initiate the power arc to
> the material with the Tesla coil...
>
> Just that simple....
>
> Cheers,
>
>          Terry

Well a lot of reported BL sightings are associated with chimneys and
these have two pertinent properties: a source of carbonaceous
material and height over surrounding structures - ideal for
attracting electrical discharges.

Malcolm