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Re: Ball Lightning

Original poster: "resonance" <resonance@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
The ones that I saw were light blue to white color. Some just popped silently and some exploded like an old M-80 firecracker.
No, there was no direct lightning strike as far as they know. They were both inside so don't know how it happened. It was during the front leading edge of a very powerful lightning storm. 

Dr. Resonance
----- Original Message ----- From: "Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 7:13 PM
Subject: Re: Ball Lightning



Original poster: Ed Phillips <evp@xxxxxxxxxxx>

Tesla list wrote:


Original poster: "resonance" <resonance@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
This may be one explanation of ball lightning, however, I have witnessed it firsthand, and suspect it was an electrostatic effect. It formed under the guy wires of a large radio tower in the Baraboo, Wisconsin, bluffs. It would form and sometimes release from this v-shaped area. It would persist for 10-30 seconds before softly exploding. Sometimes it would also travel down the power wires delivering power to the transmitter site located at the base of the tower. These would persist for a longer period of time, sometimes as long as 45-60 seconds and travel 200-300 feet before popping. I was a friend of the station engineer (fellow ham opr) and he invited me up one summers evening to witness it as it occured for nearly 1 hour.
The radio engineer who lived with his family in a house adjacent to the transmitter had an incident in which a large ball came through a wall and terrified his wife before exploding.
After this occured leaves were noted piling up in a symetrical circle around the base of the tower suggesting an electrostatic effect of sorts. It should also be noted the tower is anchored in a quartzite bluff nearly 600 feet high. The tower is an additional 600 feet above ground. 

Dr. Resonance
Very very interesting! Can you tell us more about this? This is the first report I've ever read (at least from someone credible) with any detail. What was the color? Apparent size? Do you think it was associated with anything flammable? Since the event lasted long enough for you to go and see it I wonder if this was a regular occurance at this station or a one-time affair? Any more detail about the ball which came through a wall? Was it associated with a direct lightning strike? The idea of something [anything] traveling through a wall like that seems extremely unlikely to me so more details about this would be appreciated. Did you see the place after this had happened? 

Ed