Latest Advances in Solving This Problem

[enricfemi]

have this problem been solved? anybody who can tell me the latest advance about this topic?
thank you

 

[pmb_phy]

have this problem been solved? anybody who can tell me the latest advance about this topic?
thank you

I've only heard of the idea but never read about it. The idea has something to do with maser-soliton theory. You can do a simple search in the internet for this. Here is an example of what I found.

http://www.sciam.com/askexpert_question.cfm?articleID=000CC3F9-66E4-1C71-9EB7809EC588F2D7&catID=3

Periodically I hear stories about ball lightning. Does this phenomenon really exist? Could a ball of plasma remain stable for several seconds, as some researchers have claimed?
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Ball lightning may be more exotic than microwave oven sparks, but most scientists are convinced that it is no less real. Martin A. Uman, chair of the department of electrical computer engineering at the University of Florida at Gainesville explains:

"Ball lightning is a well-documented phenomenon in the sense that it has been seen and consistently described by people in all walks of life since the time of the ancient Greeks. There is no accepted theory for what causes it. It does not necessarily consist of plasma; for example, ball lightning could be the result of a chemiluminescent process. The literature abounds with speculations on the physics of the ball lightning."

"The Maser-Soliton Theory is supported by three well-known facts. First, ball lightning never occurs on sharp mountain peaks, high-rise buildings and other high points that attract lightning and that are used for lightning research by specialists in atmospheric electricity. (Lightning researcher Karl Berger told me he spent his life registering and measuring hundreds of thousands of lightning discharges hitting his laboratory on top of Mount Salvatore in Lugano, Italy, without getting a trace of ball lightning.) The inability to observe ball lightning in such settings has led to widespread frustration and even skepticism about the reality of the phenomenon. But in fact, the field pulse of the lightning striking high, peaked objects is localized in a narrow cone that encloses a relatively small volume. According to the Maser-Soliton Theory, this environment precludes the maser effect. On the other hand, when lightning strikes the flatlands, the resulting field pulse is huge: about 10 kilometers wide and three kilometers high. Ball lightning thus keeps its secrets: it visits the farmer and avoids the scientist!

"Second, ball lightning is harmless inside airplanes and submarines or in homes that have a conducting frame. Again according to the Maser-Soliton Theory, the energy of the maser in such settings is limited to about 10 joules (contrasted to a limit of 109 to 1010 joules in the open air), too little to be dangerous to life.

"Although there is at least one textbook on lightning that questions the existence of ball lightning and I have never seen the phenomenon personally, I feel that there is no question that ball lightning exists. I have talked to six eyewitnesses of the phenomena and think there is no reasonable doubt as to the authenticity of their observations. Furthermore, the reports are all remarkably similar and have common features with the hundreds of observations that appear in the literature.

"Ball lightning is typically described as a luminous ball one to 25 centimeters in diameter having about the intensity of a 20-watt incandescent lamp; the phenomenon usually occurs after a lightning strike. It almost always moves, has a top speed of about three meters per second and floats about one meter above the ground. The motion can be counter to the prevailing breeze and can change direction erratically. Ball lightning may last up to 10 seconds, whereupon the ball extinguishes either noiselessly or with a bang. There have been many observations of ball lightning inside of houses and even in airplanes. There have also been a number of observations of ball lightning passing through closed glass windows, with no apparent damage to the glass. Usually there is no discernible heat production, although a recent observation reported a wooden plank that was singed. Several people have reported the smell of ozone and nitrogen oxides associated with ball lightning and also static in a transistor radio.

Best regards

Pete

 

[enricfemi]

thanks pete,
but the topic seems not very famous.

 

[wolram]

Look in Credible Anomalies Awaiting Proper Investigation S and Debunking.