Imbalances between storm clouds and the ground create lightning in the clouds and the heat causes the surrounding air to rapidly expand and vibrate resulting in deafening thunder. Although both are commonly observed during rains or storms, a rare meteorological event such as ball lightning is not always seen.
Instances of ball lightning have captivated and mystified people in the past that tales and myths about it were told every century. This bizarre weather phenomenon usually appears during thunderstorms as a floating sphere that ranges in color and disappears after a few seconds. The first sighting of ball lightning was in England 800 years ago.
Medieval Text Describes First Ball Lighting Recorded in History: How Does This Bizarre Phenomenon Form?
Earliest Ball Lightning Recorded
On June 11, 1195, an unusual dark cloud appeared around noon in the city of London and it gave birth to a white orb of light. The mysterious object dropped towards the Thames river in a spinning motion and was all recorded in detail in a text written by the Benedictine monk Gervase of Christ Church Cathedral Priory in Canterbury, England.
Science Alert reported that this might be the earliest convincing mention of the mysterious ball lightning in English history. Accounts of eyewitnesses described the ball lightning to be like a misnomer. They said that it appeared less massive, explosive flashes that are silent, grapefruit-sized glowing spits drifting around for a few seconds before disappearing.
This tale was told for many centuries that speculations over its true physical nature have started. There were mundane explanations of blobs of plasma that accumulated on insulated surfaces to more wild suggestions that describe it as refractive bubbles of trapped photons.
Furthermore, the details on its appearance vary significantly as some people claimed it appeared larger than a handspan while others say it is as big as their truck. Some people described it as a silent, disappearing light that popped like a soap bubble. At the same time, there are also stories claiming it exploded violently and even caused damages and injuries.
Since ball lightning is so rare, scientists find it so challenging to confirm these stories. They had to rely heavily on anecdotes across different cultures and historical records to create a thorough description of the ball lightning.
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How Do Ball Lightning Form?
According to National Geographic, ball lightning results from a ground strike that creates a reaction between oxygen and the ground. The ionized air or plasma is the same element present that caused St. Elmo's fire, a stationary glow usually confused with the ball lightning.
A theory published in 2012 said that the presence of glass could also generate ball lightning. Since atmospheric ions could pile up at the window's surface, it generates an electrical field that could create lightning. But a 2016 study also proposes that microwave radiation produced during lightning could become encapsulated in a plasma bubble and results in a ball lightning.
Ball lighting is sometimes associated with earthquakes and can take in many forms, whether they are bluish flames that appeared from the ground or floating orbs that release electrical charges. Scientists have tried to recreate it but failed to exactly copy the properties of ball lightning. In the end, there are still many to learn about this mysterious phenomenon.
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