Ball lightning
From RationalWiki
Ball lightning is a controversial atmospheric phenomenon. Only recently has it been accepted as real by meteorologists; as such it has become a kind of poster boy for pseudoscientists, who declare that acceptance of ball lightning means that the rest of their ideas automatically have some merit.
[edit] A scientific grey area
Ball lightning occupied a grey area of science for many years, and perhaps still does. The first study was made in 1838 by French scientist Dominique Arago, who listed 20 cases, yet by 1999 British scientist Mark Stenhoff declared, after twenty years of research into it, that "My position is...perhaps that of an agnostic."[1]
Despite this slow pace, reports have come from such reliable witnesses as pilots[2] and professors.[3] Multiple witness events have also occurred. The problem for science has been the short-lived and highly variable nature of the phenomenon. However, some tentative explanations have been proposed, of which the idea that it is caused by lightning hitting silicon in the ground has gained some acceptance.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ The Straight Dope
- ↑ "A ball of fire, four inches across, appeared on the fuselage in front of the cockpit" in [1]
- ↑ "One of the most (in)famous ball lightning sightings comes from Roger Jennison, professor of Electronics at the University of Kent." in [2]
- ↑ Ball lightning explained
