A brief history of ball lightning observations by scientists and trained professionals
<p>With thousands of eyewitness reports, but few instrumental records and no consensus about a theory, ball lightning remains an unsolved problem in atmospheric physics. As chances to monitor this transient phenomenon are low, it seems promising to evaluate observation reports by scientists an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2021-03-01
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| Series: | History of Geo- and Space Sciences |
| Online Access: | https://hgss.copernicus.org/articles/12/43/2021/hgss-12-43-2021.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>With thousands of eyewitness reports, but few
instrumental records and no consensus about a theory, ball lightning remains
an unsolved problem in atmospheric physics. As chances to monitor this
transient phenomenon are low, it seems promising to evaluate observation
reports by scientists and trained professionals. The following work compiles
20 published case histories and adds 15 from the author's work and 6 from a
Russian database. Forty-one cases from eight countries, 1868–2020, are presented in
abstract form with a synthesis. The collection of cases does not claim to be
complete. Six influential or notable ball lightning cases are added. It is
concluded that well-documented cases from trained observers can promote
fieldwork and stimulate and evaluate ball lightning theories. Scientists who
have not reported their experience are invited to share it with the author.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 2190-5010 2190-5029 |