The term ‘Rolling Mine’ actually refers to the ball lightening, which is lightening of ball shape. That is a real physical phenomenon indeed, not an energy cannon in science fictions or cartoons.
The first record of ball lightening dates back to 1838, which have been studied by scientists for over 170 years. Up to thousands of reports is relevant to it, and there are more than 2,000 published scientific papers. However, no one has given a reasonable explanation of this phenomenon. It is unlikely for ball lightening to be able to strike through anything.
Ball lightening usually takes place under a thunderstorm.And there is bright light when ball lightening happens. It has a diameter ranging from 20-50cm. Generally it can last for several seconds, but there are also times when it lasted for 1 to 2 minutes. More amazingly, it can slowly move in the air on its own.
Some witnesses said that ball lightening follows metallic objects like telephone wires. But many people said there isn’t a particular path for it. Most of the witnesses said ball lightening moves breadthwise.
During its ephemeral life that is just several seconds long, ball lightening keeps the same brightness, shape and size. It has been to open grounds, confined places, and even in airplane cabins.
Some obvious signs show that ball lightening is in a close relationship with the lightening between clouds and the ground. According to some witnesses, it will happen or disappear after normal lightening. Ball lightening may furiously break out or quietly vanish all of a sudden. While there are all kinds of different opinions about the color of ball lightening.
As early as 1955, the physicists from the Soviet Union had brought up a viewpoint that ball lightning is caused by the effects of electric-magnetic disturbance during a thunderstorm. In 1991, Japanese scientists made a report about a series of phenomenon that were brought forward by microwave interference, as they had found in the experiment. Their artificial plasma balls also showed some features of ball lightning, such as its movement against the mainstream air and its ability to go through solids. So what is this incredible ball lightning on earth? For many years, ball lightning was considered as something that didn’t exist by scientists. Until recent decades, it has been proved to be real.
In 1998, in a Spanish physicist’s opinion, the causes of the so-called mysterious ball lightning were not mysterious at all. As he said, this phenomenon was probably out of the constraints on luminous plasma from the magnetic field in the process of the birth of lightning.
He established a module of magnetic fields under lightning and held the opinion that the shape of ball lightning was exactly a magnetic web which was ‘knitted’ by the magnetic rolls of both horizontal and vertical magnetic field during lightning. And under certain special cases, this web may turn out to be a ball shape, while the luminous plasma would be caught by the web and ball lightning came in this way. This kind of fireball effect would last until the temperature of plasma dropped.
As researchers said, according to their calculation before, the fireball can last up to 10-15s. After the plasma get cooled down, electrons are to be constrained by atoms and there are higher electric resistance and weaker current inside the plasma, which is followed by the collapse of the magnetic field around. At last, fireball no longer exists. On the basis of this theory, most ball lightning is considered to cold, while the temperature of the part along the magnetic line of force is rather high. Stated by researchers, that can be a good reason for why the unheated fireball is easy to catch fire after reaching to objects.
In 2000, two Zelanian scientists put forward a new theory that the transformation from the mineral in soil into nano pure silicon and particles of silicon compounds can happen when normal branch-shaped lightning strikes into the ground. These tiny particles are less than 0.1 micrometer and will enter the atmosphere under the effects of the energy of lightning. This process is like that when smokers spit out a smoke ring. The siliceous particles take a chain shape first and make up d a fine ball-shaped mesh that moves along the air. The particles in this mesh are highly active and can burn under certain situations. While it is burning, it releases light and heat and turns into so-called ball lightning.
The speed of ball lightning
In Oregon, the United States, there was ball lightening that went as wind. At first, it left a hole as big as a basketball on the screen door. After that it went directly to the basement and brutally destroyed an old mangle calender. What a Russian teacher had been through was even more horrible. The ball lightening with a diameter of 80cm bounced up and down over 20 times before it disappeared.
What’s more, there is also a report from the Soviet Union saying once the ball lightening flied into a big pot with water in it. The water went boiling immediately and the lightening didn’t get smothered until 10 minutes later; for another time, a football-sized ball lightening was rolling and jumping along the street. Through explosion, a huge hole appeared, which was half meter deep with an one-meter-long diameter. Lastly the fire ball drilled into the ground with a thundering sound. As some witnesses said as well, they have seen ball lightening with the ability to go through the doors and windows, or even the body of a plane. Scientists from New Zealand have their explanation towards this. Most doors and windows of houses got cracks around them, while the ball-shaped net with silicious particles is quite elastic. It can pass anywhere that the air can go through.That is to say, if air can go through doors and windows, so can this kind of fine mesh. And afterwards it goes back into shape.Experiments on soil samples had been carried out by scientists with electric discharge of lightning samples, which showed that polymeric nano particles are indeed one of the products of lightning and these ions oxidize in the sane speed of ball lightning.
That is to say, if air can go through doors and windows, so can this kind of fine mesh. And afterwards it goes back into shape. Experiments on soil samples had been carried out by scientists with electric discharge of lightning samples, which showed that polymeric nano particles are indeed one of the products of lightning and these ions oxidize in the sane speed of ball lightning.
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