Fireball- an unusually rare and still not fully understood phenomenon. Nevertheless, it, like any other powerful electrical discharge, poses a threat to life.
What is ball lightning
The nature of this phenomenon is not even half understood yet. There are many theories and hypotheses explaining this phenomenon, but due to lack of material, none of them has yet been confirmed.
One of the first written references to ball lightning comes to us from 1638. In an English village, a blue “fireball” burst into a church right during a sermon. The lightning was 2 m in diameter. Eyewitnesses said that the ball destroyed several stone walls of the church, then began to destroy the benches, and then split in two - one part flew through the window in an unknown direction, and the second simply disappeared, flying a little more inside the building. As a result of this incident, 4 people died, about 60 were injured.
The unusual shape is not the only feature of ball lightning. She is also characterized by unusual, seemingly conscious behavior. During World War II, pilots different countries claimed to have seen unidentified luminous balls that flew in strange trajectories, either speeding up or slowing down. There is a known case when three fireballs attacked a crew member on deck British ship in 1809. When his comrades tried to take the lifeless body, the glowing balls attacked them too - fortunately, not fatally, and then flew away.
Eyewitnesses met both huge fireballs with a diameter of 3-4 meters, and tiny balls 5 cm in diameter.
There is also more modern evidence - for example, in 2008 in the Kazan region, a luminous blue ball flew into the open window of a trolleybus. The conductor was able to push him with a validator to the other end of the cabin, where it was empty. There the lightning exploded. All passengers, conductor and driver survived. Only the trolleybus itself was out of order. And in 2012, such lightning appeared in an unknown way in the house of a resident of the Brest region. The woman claims that the doors and windows were locked. Moreover, no one found any traces of damage to all possible entrances. The eyewitness decided not to make sudden movements, and ball lightning floated smoothly over her head and discharged into the wiring. Only repairs suffered in this incident - the walls were slightly charred at the place of discharge.
One of the most extraordinary explanations for ball lightning is the assumption that such lightning is a living being. But given the above, it may well be true.
Despite hundreds of eyewitness accounts (both centuries old and modern), not all scientists are sure that ball lightning is a real-life phenomenon. Some are convinced that this phenomenon is just a hallucination. But there are still no clear photographs and videos of ball lightning.
Video: fireball
Can ball lightning fly into a house
Judging by the numerous statements - yes, it can. And neither glass (according to the evidence, she can pass through it), nor a mosquito net will interfere with her. Moreover, the case in the Brest region proves that sometimes ball lightning can appear inside the premises in an unknown way - as if it arises from the air. What to do in this case?
The main rule - do not make sudden movements. As history shows, such behavior will put your life in danger - the ball can be discharged right at you, which will end in failure. The movement of ball lightning is not yet fully understood, but most people are of the opinion that it moves with the help of air currents. Try not to create them - don't wave your arms, don't create drafts. If you're far enough away from the lightning, it's best not to move at all. If it formed very close to you, try to slowly and smoothly move towards the exit.
Here are some tips from eyewitnesses:
- keep a close eye on ball lightning. So you can predict the trajectory of its movement;
- avoid proximity to metal objects, sockets and wiring. With a high probability, lightning will be attracted to them;
- be patient. Ball lightning usually disappears with a loud bang a few minutes after it appears, so it's best to wait for it to "self-destruct" rather than trying to push it away or kick it out.
Rumor has it that some people were able to forcibly discharge ball lightning by pressing the plug of a household appliance against it. But this method is extremely unreliable and dangerous - do not resort to it.
Ball lightning is a dangerous and little-studied phenomenon. When confronted with him, do not do anything stupid and try to act as calmly as possible.
The first documentary references to ball lightning are found in the chronicles of the time of the Roman Empire.
In Russia, this phenomenon was evidenced by a manuscript dated 1663, which speaks of a fire that descended to the ground, which “rolled” after people running away from it, did not burn anything, and eventually rose back to heaven. In legends and myths, ball lightning is represented as a monster with eyes burning with fire.
How does she look?
Those who have seen ball lightning describe it as a luminous ball that can float in the air in any direction, making a slight crackle. The color of the ball can be any - orange, blue, red, white. The appearance of lightning has nothing to do with sources of electrical energy.
Ball lightning can enter a room through a hole smaller than its diameter; sometimes the ball "sticks" to the wires and moves along them. The flow of light from lightning is similar to the light from an electric lamp. The fireball lives for no more than ten seconds, after which it may explode or suddenly go out.
It is almost impossible to obtain ball lightning in the laboratory, and the researchers rely mainly on eyewitness accounts in their work. But few of the witnesses could see the very moment of the birth of lightning. Scientists believe that ball lightning can occur at the fork. 
Although often eyewitnesses claim that the ball appears from the electrical panel, telephone, socket. One thing is certain: ball lightning is formed where electric charges accumulate, which cannot be neutralized.
Where does she come from?
There are about four hundred theories that one way or another explain the origin of ball lightning, but so far none of them has received one hundred percent confirmation. Let's take a look at the most common one. To understand the principle of the appearance of ball lightning, you need to remember how the formation of ordinary, linear lightning begins.
Due to the high tension electric field a channel of highly ionized air appears in the cloud. Its tip in leaps of several tens of meters, with a change in direction of movement, moves towards the ground. This is how a broken electrically conductive channel is created, and through it, with thunder and glow, the main part of the charge is transferred from the earth to the cloud. 
Vortex component electromagnetic field which is created in starting point charge movement and at each break in the trajectory, it breaks away from the general field and begins an independent life.
If there is a lot of energy in this electromagnetic vortex, it ionizes the air with the formation of plasma. This plasma forms outer shell, which traps the electromagnetic vortex. In physics, this is called a "soliton" or "solitary wave." The conditions for its short existence are the nonlinearity and dispersion of the plasma. It is this soliton that is ball lightning.
What can she do?
Ball lightning, depending on the critical frequency of the plasma shell, can heat the human body, surrounding objects (especially metal) and water.
Many witnesses tell how, due to ball lightning, jewelry “evaporated”, computers and other electrical appliances were damaged. Ball lightning can have a hypnotic effect on a person.
What to do?
If you have witnessed the appearance of ball lightning, do not panic. Move metal objects and electrical appliances away from you, do not make phone calls, turn off the TV. Try not to touch clothes made of synthetic materials. 
Slowly approaching the window, open the window, and then smoothly move away from the lightning and from the window. If you are wearing synthetics, try not to move. A person struck by ball lightning needs to call an ambulance.
Many of us have heard of such a thing as "ball lightning". I must say that few imagine what kind of phenomenon this is. Not to mention ordinary people, even physicists and chemists still do not know what ball lightning is. How it looks, some eyewitnesses described, but, so to speak, not everyone managed to “touch” it. Of course, every self-respecting astrophysicist is trying to tell the entire scientific world that he has discovered something new, say, unexplored planets or galaxies. But here it is worth going down to earth, because on our planet there are a lot of unexplored natural phenomena.
What is ball lightning?
To date, official science cannot give an explanation of what is commonly called ball lightning. Even the leading experts in this field do not know what ball lightning looks like and how it is formed.
The point here is that theoretical physicists still cannot agree on a common opinion: is it plasma or electricity. Unfortunately, they know what ball lightning looks like, but so far no one has been able to "stuff" it into a test tube for research.
What's in the movies, what's in real life we can very often observe such specific effects. Not many directors allow themselves to recreate them, and even more so to do natural shooting. As is already clear, this is fraught with unpredictable consequences.
The point of view of official physics
What do teachers who teach physics in schools, applicants for the defense of doctoral dissertations, tell us? Yes, absolutely nothing. Officially, on the question of how ball lightning looks like, or what effect it can have on a person, only appearance much has been said, but not about the nature of the phenomenon itself.
Today it is believed that ball lightning is a plasma clot. True, official science still does not explain the fact that such a plasma clot is capable of emitting millions of volts of electricity. It turns out that questions about how ball lightning looks like, how this phenomenon is formed, remain unanswered.
Despite all our knowledge accumulated over the centuries, we still cannot give an unambiguous answer to the question that interests us. But let's try to approach the concept itself from a slightly different point of view. To begin with, let's consider what a meeting with lightning of this type is fraught with.
What does ball lightning look like and why is it dangerous?
First of all, you need to clearly understand that ball lightning usually looks like a bright ball with light that cuts the eyes, which "floats" above the surface of the earth. Again, physicists do not agree on what ball lightning looks like (the photo will be shown below).
In contact with such a thing, you can either get a high-voltage shock or burn alive, as evidenced by numerous cases.
But here's what's interesting. Some people have survived such situations and emerged victorious from them. Now we will not name their names, but official science confirms that a short-term impulse is capable of exerting a rather strong influence on the human brain centers. Almost everyone has heard about what ball lightning looks like, but only people called psychics can guess from the effect of its active manifestations. By the way, many of them at one time, if they did not survive a meeting with ball lightning, then they certainly received an electric shock. More on this later.
The most common manifestations of ball lightning
In general, in the European part of our continent, the question of how ball lightning looks like, how this object is formed, what consequences it has, in principle, can be ignored. But climbers say that in the highlands, the appearance of ball lightning is considered the norm.
There is nothing surprising in this. If we consider the topic “Fill lightning: what does it look like?”, It is worth paying attention to those places that are the most dangerous, where, as it is believed, an encounter with ball lightning is practically guaranteed.
These are the so-called places of tectonic faults. Take 37-38 parallel. Absolutely all the pyramids known today (Egypt, Mexico, India, etc.) were built along it.
Where does it occur most often?
Could it be that ancient people or aliens protected their buildings or access to certain data in this way?
Ball lightning, as proof of this, met on the way of many researchers, including the discoverers of the tomb of Tutankhamun. As you know, they all died an incomprehensible death in one year. Unfortunately, none of them left any clear diary of what constitutes ball lightning. True, they knew what she looked like, but the meeting with her is believed to have been fatal.
And Egypt is not the only indicator. Almost all places associated with the construction of pyramids or ancient burials are somehow associated with the appearance of ball lightning (probably as a regulator of access to some of their functions, which, alas, we have no idea about).
Education process
Now let's plunge a little into the area of the process, which implies the formation of such a clot of matter.
It is not necessary to say that this is matter. For those who understand the essence of the matter, we immediately note that ball lightning has mass, which means that it is not light, expressed in transmission by photons with zero mass. This is not a neutrino. Such particles are capable of penetrating not only the Earth, but also each of us every second. What then?
The connection between plasma and electricity
It is not enough to talk about what ball lightning looks like, you need to know the root causes of its physical occurrence. As is commonly believed, a plasma formation in the form of ball lightning carries a charge of static electricity, which can be transformed into a dynamic component and transmitted at a distance even under the condition of direct physical contact. If we consider the question of how ball lightning looks like (see a photo of a conventional discharge below), it is worth noting the relationship between these two phenomena.
The founder of almost the entire theory and practice of using electric current and transmitting it to any distance without wires is considered brilliant physicist named Nikola Tesla.
It was he who conducted the first experiments on the creation of the same ball lightning in a local version. Unfortunately, all these developments are deeply classified by the US intelligence agencies.
Why is it necessary to beware of such formations?
Surprisingly, you have to be very careful with shapes like fireballs. The fact is that the electric discharge following touching such a substance produces a completely inadequate effect on the human body.
Some believe that people who have experienced a ball lightning current open the so-called third eye, when an individual can predict and predict future events. Here it is worth paying attention to the Holy Scriptures. It contains clear indications that these are the machinations of the devil's power. How much this corresponds to the truth, we will not delve into now, however, even many researchers of paranormal phenomena tend to believe that the question of what ball lightning looks like and what this phenomenon is, note the fact that this phenomenon is simply not studied , not to mention whether he is divine or truly diabolical power.
Impact on the human body and brain
Unfortunately, our body is affected by many factors. Who hasn't heard of full moon when dark forces roam in the form of vampires or werewolves?
Yes, indeed, a satellite of the Earth is capable of exerting a rather large influence on a person, but for sure no one thinks about the fact that practically the same effect can be obtained with the appearance of ball lightning (in most cases this happens much faster, and in people prone to the influence of third-party forces or those who are believed to have psychic abilities).
What does ball lightning look like in a house? And how to behave when it appears?
Now we come to one of the most "sore" questions. If such a formation in the form of a ball or hemisphere flies into the house, first of all, you need not to move, since ball lightning reacts precisely to movement, and it is not always clear why.
Some professionals who know a lot about phenomena of a detailed kind recommend lying on the floor, and not standing upright. It is believed that in this case, the ball can simply fly from above without affecting the person, since it itself does not cause air vibrations, thereby creating an area of low pressure, where ball lightning can move initially.
In general, this is not an isolated case. It is only worth noting that almost any person who encounters such a unique natural phenomenon as ball lightning is subject to a certain risk, not to mention death.
Nevertheless, quite a lot of examples can be cited when people even experienced contact with such a “touchy” as a physical substance in the form of ball lightning, and after that they received more superpowers that are not characteristic of ordinary people at birth. It is believed that this process in the transformation of DNA (the main chain of genes at birth) may be responsible for some electromagnetic impulses transmitted in the form of ball lightning. In addition, it is possible that some encoded information hidden from prying eyes may be hidden here.
Conclusion
Here, in fact, we briefly reviewed the main topic "ball lightning: what does this phenomenon look like?". As is already clear, there is still no consensus even among scientists about the explanation of this unique phenomenon. It remains only to guess what is actually hidden behind it.
Fireball. This mysterious phenomenon of nature is still very little studied. There are many cases when this clot of crushing energy enters our homes. It penetrates the room through the slightest cracks, chimneys and even through smooth glass. Ball lightning is a fleeting phenomenon, but sometimes it can be observed for 20 seconds.
Ball lightning is considered a special type of lightning, which is a luminous fireball floating through the air (sometimes it looks like a mushroom, drop or pear).
Getting into the apartment, ball lightning behaves differently: it either goes out, or "splashes" with a crash. Its sizes vary. The most common lightning is about 15 cm in size. But there are times when it reaches 1 meter or more in diameter. In contact with a person, in general, the matter ends tragically. But in rare cases this does not happen. Not so long ago, such a contact happened in China: surprisingly, having hit the same person 2 times, she did not kill him (the incident was shown on TV).
A case of such a meeting with ball lightning is described: in Zimbabwe (Africa), a young woman escaped with such contact with only the loss of her dress and hairstyle. In Pyatigorsk, a roofing worker burned his hands while trying to brush off a small ball that seemed to be hovering over him. I had to be treated for a long time, because such burns do not heal for a long time. But there are many more cases that end tragically. In the summer there was a case when a still not old man was killed, who was grazing public cattle in the pasture. Ball lightning destroyed him along with his horse.
There have been instances where aircraft encounter these fireballs. But the death of the aircraft or the crew has not yet been recorded (only minor damage to the skin was noted).
What does ball lightning look like?
Ball lightnings come in different shapes: round, oval, conical, etc. The color of lightning also has a full range of colors. There are red with different shades, green, orange, white. Some types of lightning have a luminous "tail". What is this natural phenomenon? Scientists say that ball lightning is a clot of plasma, the temperature of which can be 30,000,000 degrees. This is higher than the solar temperature at its center.
Why does this happen, what is its nature of occurrence. Observations of the appearance of these "balls" from nowhere were noted - on a sunny clear day, mysterious orange balls moved close to the surface, in a place where there were no high-voltage wires and other types of energy sources. Maybe they arise deep in the bowels of our planet, maybe in its faults. In general, this mysterious phenomenon no one has yet studied. Our scientists know more about the origin of stars than about what goes on under their noses from age to age.
Types of ball lightning
Based on eyewitness accounts, two main types of ball lightning are distinguished:
- The first is a red fireball descending from a cloud. When such a heavenly gift touches some object on earth, such as a tree, it explodes. Interesting: ball lightning can be the size of a soccer ball, it can hiss and buzz menacingly.
- Another type of ball lightning travels along earth's surface and glows with a bright white light. The ball is attracted to good conductors of electricity and can touch anything - the ground, a power line, or a person.
Time of existence of ball lightning
Ball lightning exists from a few seconds to several minutes. Why is it so?
One theory claims that the ball is a small copy of a thundercloud. Here's how it might happen. The smallest dust particles are constantly in the air. Lightning can tell electric charge dust particles in a certain area of the air. Some dust particles are positively charged, others are negatively charged. In a further light presentation lasting up to many seconds, millions of small lightnings connect oppositely charged dust particles, creating in the air the image of a sparkling fireball - ball lightning.
In the middle of the eighteenth century, the Russian physicist Georg Richman came up with a device for studying electricity. As soon as a thunderstorm began, the scientist, together with the engraver, went outside to make observations. Suddenly, a ball of bluish-orange color flew out of the device and hit Richman right in the forehead with a terrible roar. The physicist died on the spot. The engraver escaped with a stun and light bruises. The scientist's clothes were scorched, a small dark spot was found on his forehead. Nowadays, the existence of the phenomenon of ball lightning is practically confirmed by numerous photos of eyewitnesses, as well as videos. But among researchers, until recently, only rare specialists believed in the reality of a natural disaster. The rest explained her appearance by hallucinations and optical illusion, allowing ufologists to build their own incredible guesses.
howball lightning occurs
Until 2010, this phenomenon was in the same area of the unknown as big Foot with aliens, often associated with the latter. Ball lightning no longer has any desire to frighten scientists. Studies by Austrian experts led to the fact that the luminous balls were classified as hallucinations. The scorched earth and traces on the trees were attributed to ordinary lightning.
However, two years later, while studying ordinary lightning, Chinese scientists encountered a mysterious phenomenon. With two spectrometers, they recorded a second and a half of the glow and the spectra of ball lightning. It turned out that the spectrum of mysterious balls of light consists of iron, silicon and calcium, which are part of the soil.
Specialists involved in the study of this elusive phenomenon are of the opinion that ball lightning is a plasma clot. Thanks to magnetic field The earth object retains its shape for some time. A phenomenon is formed at the second when lightning strikes the ground.
All this does not explain the fact that in the laboratory it was not possible to obtain a long-lived plasmoid. But eyewitnesses say that they saw ball lightning for minutes and even hours. Luminous objects enter the houses through the windows and simply seep through the glass. They wind circles around the apartment and fly away. In other cases, housing is burned to the ground.
A dangerous and attractive phenomenon makes one build the most amazing theories. Some believe that this is intelligent plasmoid life trying to contact us by burning patterns on trees and fields. There is some sense in this. Sometimes the behavior of a luminous ball looks quite natural. An illusion is created that acts with purpose. One way or another, the question of what is ball lightning, myth or reality, remains open.
Placesappearance of ball lightning
According to eyewitnesses, ball lightning appears in the most unusual places. Psychics rank the areas where this phenomenon is most common as areas with paranormal activity.
We bring to the attention of readers several places where eyewitnesses observed ball lightning.
- Medveditskaya ridge. It is located in the Volgograd region on the border with the Saratov region. The slope of furious lightning attracts a large number of tourists and researchers of unusual phenomena. In particular, the group of Kosmopoisk, a social-scientific association, systematically explored the strange place. It was headed by Vadim Chernobrov, a leading Russian specialist in the field of Bigfoot and flying saucers. Ball lightning appears here not only during a thunderstorm, but also in normal weather. The mountain literally attracts them in large numbers.
- On ships. There are several testimonies when ball lightning formed over ships. In the middle of the eighteenth century, the ship "Catherine and Marie" suffered from its action. The ship was moving in sight of the coast of Florida, when suddenly a luminous ball appeared. He broke the mast into thousands of pieces and caused significant damage to parts of the ship.
- In home. Many eyewitnesses talk about how ball lightning, be it myth or reality, seeps through walls and flies into open windows.
- On airplanes phenomena are also observed. Shortly after the Second World War, a passenger plane bound for Cairo felt hit on the hull. One of the passengers was lucky to notice a glowing orange-yellow ball that flew out from under the fuselage. Thirty centimeters from the side, the object exploded and left behind a bright three-meter jet.
Whatdo with ball lightning at home
Since the phenomenon is so dangerous, it is necessary to know how to behave when confronted with it. If ball lightning has flown into the apartment, adhere to the following recommendations.
- Don't run. Trying to quickly leave the danger zone, a person creates a stream of air. The glowing ball will follow you.
- Try to get out of the ball lightning trajectory slowly. Do not touch it or try to throw objects at it. Such actions will provoke an explosion.
- If a person has been affected by ball lightning, provide fresh air. Cover him with a blanket and call an ambulance.
- If you suddenly forget what to do when fireball occurs at home, at least remember that this phenomenon requires the same behavior as an angry dog. Don't make sudden movements and try to get away.
Remember that although photos of eyewitnesses help to understand the phenomenon of ball lightning, you should not be heroic and risk getting close. Modern technologies allow you to capture such a phenomenon at a safe distance.