7. The Phenomenon of Ball Lightning
Of the several riddles about lightning, maybe none is as mysterious as ball lightning. Sometimes lasting several minutes, this rare occurrence is characterised as a floating, lit sphere that can persist far longer than a standard lightning flash.
Though ball lightning has been reported for millennia, its frequency and unpredictable nature make study challenging for experts. Often moving erratically and occasionally passing through solid objects, witnesses report witnessing brilliant spheres ranging from pea-sized to several meters in diameter.
Although the precise type of ball lightning is yet unknown, various ideas try to clarify it. Some researchers suggest that it results from silicon vaporising upon ground lightning strikes to create a floating mist of brilliant nanoparticles. Others propose it might be a complicated plasma phenomenon or perhaps a delusion brought on by the electromagnetic waves connected with lightning.
Scientists have advanced in simulating ball lightning-like events in laboratory in recent years, so providing promise for a deeper knowledge of this enigmatic event. Whichever its exact form, ball lightning is still among the most amazing and enigmatic feature of lightning studies.
8. Lightning’s Ability to Produce Nuclear Reactions
Scientists have made a novel finding: nuclear processes in the Earth’s atmosphere can be started by lightning. This result questions our knowledge of the possible influence of natural events on atomic dynamics.
The electric fields in especially severe lightning strikes can grow so strong that they accelerate electrons almost to the speed of light. Usually connected with radioactive decay and nuclear explosions, gamma rays is produced when these high-energy electrons hit with atoms in the air.
Photonuclear reaction is the phenomena whereby these gamma rays interact with the nuclei of nitrogen atoms in the air. Neutrons can be knocked out of the nitrogen nuclei by this reaction, momentarily generating radioactive nitrogen-13 which then decays back to stable carbon-13.
Although the created radioactivity is negligible and does not endanger human health, this discovery has important consequences for our knowledge of atmospheric processes and the possibility of natural events to affect nuclear physics. It also provides fresh directions for investigating high-energy physics with a particle accelerator derived from natural lightning.
9. The Existence of Dark Lightning
Although visible lightning grabs our attention with its brilliant flashes, scientists have found a hidden counterpart called “dark lightning,” in which case strong gamma ray bursts are emitted invisible to the human eye but detectable with specialised tools.
Though it doesn’t generate visible light, dark lightning strikes the same areas of thunderstorms as normal lightning. Rather, it produces a transient but strong gamma ray surge. Far more strong than medical X-rays and equivalent to the radiation generated in nuclear processes, these emissions can reach energy of up to 100 million electron volts.
Our knowledge of thunderstorms and atmospheric physics depends much on the finding of dark lightning. Given these high-energy emissions could provide a radiation risk to planes travelling through storms, it may help explain some oddities observed in storm behaviour and could maybe affect air travel safety.
Fascinatingly, dark lightning may also set off regular lightning strikes. Acting as a sort of “spark plug,” the high-energy electrons generated during dark lightning episodes may aid start the development of visible lightning bolts.