Ball Lightning

Ball lightning is a rare and mysterious phenomenon. Eyewitnesses report that it is generally a glowing ball of light about the size of an orange or grapefruit. It can hover in the air, bounce or roll along the ground, or travel along a wire fence or utility wire. It has even been observed climbing a utility pole. It is usually quiet, although one ball lightning that passed into a lake was said to sputter and hiss like a hot iron when it hit the water. It can be almost any color, but red, orange and yellow are the most frequent colors. It is often accompanied by the smell of ozone or burning sulfur. Ball lightning usually occurs during a thunderstorm, and often after a cloud to ground lightning strike, but not always. There is a great deal of controvery over the cause of ball lightning. Some scientists theorize that the glowing sphere is made up of a hot gas of electrons, called plasma. Cloud to ground lightning strikes travel along a pathway of plasma formed by the step leader from the cloud and the streamer rising from the ground. Many researchers attribute it to silicon compounds in the soil that are oxidized in the air when lightning strikes the ground. The droplets become electrically charged and can glow. On this date in 1963, an Eastern Airlines flight between New York and Washington encountered an electrical storm. Passengers reported seeing a glowing sphere, bluish-white in color, about 8 inches in diameter that appeared in the cabin. The ball lightning passed slowly down the entire center aisle of the aircraft.