# Regarding Ball Lightning

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-ball-lightning/359726>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [June 7, 2006, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-ball-lightning/359726 "2006-06-07T12:24:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-ball-lightning/359726/1 "2006-06-07T12:24:00Z")

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**Cecil** ’s Timeless Screed on Ball Lightning.

[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040917.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040917.html)

> [@](#):
>
> **Cecil Adams** ~~ We don’t know jack, though not for lack of trying.

And now, we do know.

> **[Physicists generate ball-lightning in the lab](https://phys.org/news/2006-06-physicists-ball-lightning-lab.html)**
>
> Scientists in the joint study group of Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik and Berlin’s Humboldt University have generated ball-lightning in the laboratory - or, to be more precise, ball-lightning-like plasma clouds. The physicists produce luminous...

And knowing is half the…I just can’t say it.

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-ball-lightning/359726/2 "2006-06-07T15:56:35Z")

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From **Bosda’s** Physorg link:  
“\* Furthermore, the plasma glows very brightly, although the plasmoids appear to be rather cold. A sheet of paper placed above them does get lifted, but it does not catch fire.\*”

Yow. That’s mighty mysterious. St. Elmo was a happenin’ cat.

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**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-ball-lightning/359726/3 "2006-06-08T07:35:16Z")

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it’s just a bunch of ionized gas that takes a split second to reionize. The fact that it’s cold makes sense, seeing as it cannot stay ionized (as opposed to a hot plasma which is ionized precisely because of its heat). It glows brightly because of the reionization process.

can this explain ball lightening?

I don’t know, do you have a good process for why reionization wouldn’t happen during a thunderstorm? (honest question… i don’t know much about it. maybe the air is already depleted of electrons.)

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**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-ball-lightning/359726/4 "2006-06-08T07:39:42Z")

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should be:  
“(as opposed to a hot plasma which GETS REIONIZED precisely because of its heat)”

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**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\
**Post date:** [June 8, 2006, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-ball-lightning/359726/5 "2006-06-08T07:51:47Z")

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ugh, and reionized should be changed to deionized just about everywhere else