Re: Ball Lightning

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: <davep@xxxxxxxx>


> Some BL reports say that it can form suddenly indoors, as if "winking
> on" but not drifting in from outside.   If so, then it's not exactly
> electrostatic, since a house will shield the DC thunderstorm field.
    How does a 'house' shield from a DC field?
    A wooden house, with a few nails scattered about?
    ("Aluminum siding, or steel frame commercial construction,
    sure....)

> More likely it requires a transient high e-field such as those in the
> miles of space surrounding a lightning strike.
    There are at least two reports in Barry that do not seem
    to involve HV or high fields.
        [Granted: one of the complications of BL (and the like)
         is distinguishing between 'BL', things that might be 'BL',
         and various things that 'look like' 'BL'.]

    One involved a short circuit in a Hydro power plant 6000VAC odd,
    on an alternator bus.

    Another involved (intentional?) short test on a bank of
    submarine propulsion batteries: call it 600VDC at Gee Criminy
    I Dunno But Many amps.  (The latter could be followed up,
    given budget.) cf Barry for details of both.

    Tesla/BL/CSN:
    at some point (There is a searchable copy online ?) Tesla
    reported 'fire balls' being seen in the sparks from one coil.
    Whether these were real, or optical illusions (i tend towards
    real)?  His secondary used rubber covered wire, hence the
    use of rubber to 'seed' the maybe fireballs by modern experimenters.

    (Not that it matters, but I was at the ITS Tesla Con when this
    was discussed.  Many (tho not all?) BL phenomona seem to fit
    with a 'strange, low temperature, combustion' model.  I could be
    wrong.)

    best
     dwp