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http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/10/2/6/1Great balls of lightning
9 February 2006
If you have ever seen a mysterious ball of lightning chasing a cow or flying through your window during a thunderstorm, take comfort from the fact that you have witnessed a very rare phenomenon. Indeed, ball lightning -- a slow-moving ball of light that is occasionally seen at ground level during storms -- has puzzled scientists for centuries. Now, however, researchers in Israel have built a system that can create lightning balls in the lab. The work may not only help us to understand ball lightning but could even lead to practical applications that make use of these artificial balls (Phys. Rev. Lett. 96 045002).[continued]
Ball lightning is a glowing sphere of light that has been reported to appear during thunderstorms. It is a rare and unexplained phenomenon that can last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes.
Yes, there have been several successful attempts to produce ball lightning in a laboratory setting using various methods such as high-voltage discharges, microwave radiation, and chemical reactions.
The exact mechanism of how ball lightning is produced in a lab is still not fully understood. However, it is believed that it involves a combination of factors such as creating a plasma state, trapping the plasma in a magnetic field, and sustaining it with an external energy source.
Studying ball lightning in a controlled laboratory setting can provide valuable insights into the nature of this phenomenon and help us better understand its behavior and potential applications. This research can also have implications in fields such as energy production, plasma physics, and atmospheric sciences.
The production of ball lightning in a lab can involve potentially hazardous methods such as high-voltage discharges. Therefore, it is important to take proper safety precautions and conduct these experiments under the supervision of trained professionals. However, ball lightning itself is not considered dangerous as it is typically small and short-lived.