Ball lightning seemingly from nowhere
(July 2026)
When lightning strikes the ground, a large amount of dense dust, charged particles (ions) remains in the air, which can be the cause of the formation of ball lightning. But ball lightning can also occur without visible line lightning. According to physicists, earthquakes, micrometeorites, or rock pressure (piezoelectricity) may be the causes. A new hypothesis is presented below.
Visible line lightning is always preceded by invisible streamers (streamers) with lower energy and ≈ 95% positive charge, which can only be observed with special cameras. There are a lot of them, and few meet discharges coming from above. The lightning flashes are plasma threads of a few 10 Amperes, possibly 100 Amperes, 30-60 meters long, and a few mm in diameter, seemingly weak for a ball lightning, and the streamers do not create enough dust or ions for a ball lightning on the earth's surface.
However, the tip of the lightning flashes - the streamer head is the name of the tip - is a high-energy physical phenomenon. The electric field in the streamer is a multiple of the breakdown voltage of the air (30 kV/cm), it can be 107 V/m. The streamer head consists of a thin, mobile small electron cloud and a slow, positive ion cloud remaining behind it. A local dipole, which accelerates the electrons, causes collisional ionization, chain reactions. The chain reaction of the electrons, the avalanche, becomes self-sustaining and transforms into a fast-moving streamer channel.
The electrons in the streamer head not only ionize, but also excite nitrogen molecules, and then oxygen molecules. If the air has humidity, the electrons directly split the water molecules, causing dissociation, and hydroxyl (-OH) radicals are formed from the moisture. -OH radicals are very aggressive short-lived free radicals, with which the pre-lightning oxidizes the gases in its environment, and the oxides have a pungent odor. This process forms the basis of modern plasma-based air purification devices. Ball lightning also has a similar odor.
Visible line lightning is always preceded by invisible streamers (streamers) with lower energy and ≈ 95% positive charge, which can only be observed with special cameras. There are a lot of them, and few meet discharges coming from above. The lightning flashes are plasma threads of a few 10 Amperes, possibly 100 Amperes, 30-60 meters long, and a few mm in diameter, seemingly weak for a ball lightning, and the streamers do not create enough dust or ions for a ball lightning on the earth's surface.
However, the tip of the lightning flashes - the streamer head is the name of the tip - is a high-energy physical phenomenon. The electric field in the streamer is a multiple of the breakdown voltage of the air (30 kV/cm), it can be 107 V/m. The streamer head consists of a thin, mobile small electron cloud and a slow, positive ion cloud remaining behind it. A local dipole, which accelerates the electrons, causes collisional ionization, chain reactions. The chain reaction of the electrons, the avalanche, becomes self-sustaining and transforms into a fast-moving streamer channel.
The electrons in the streamer head not only ionize, but also excite nitrogen molecules, and then oxygen molecules. If the air has humidity, the electrons directly split the water molecules, causing dissociation, and hydroxyl (-OH) radicals are formed from the moisture. -OH radicals are very aggressive short-lived free radicals, with which the pre-lightning oxidizes the gases in its environment, and the oxides have a pungent odor. This process forms the basis of modern plasma-based air purification devices. Ball lightning also has a similar odor.
Formation of ball lightning from a streamer head
The local dipole of the streamer head (electron and ion cloud) creates a high electric field. The accelerated electrons ionize and dissociate the air molecules (nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor). At the end of the process, a high-temperature, ionized gas, plasma, can break off from the streamer and form a sphere. The surface tension of the resulting Yukawa plasma holds the sphere together.
High humidity is also necessary for ball lightning. Hydroxyl (-OH) and oxygen radicals from the dissociation of water vapor feed the chemical reactions. Particles floating near the ground, aerosols, grains of sand or nanoparticles only contaminate the forming sphere.
The magnetic field of the internal currents flowing in the plasma compresses the plasma filament. Due to the longitudinal instability of the filament, the filament breaks into parts, "beads", and then into individual spheres, sometimes into a single sphere. In the streamer head at the end of the plasma filament, due to the field strength of ≈ 107 V/m, an independent, closed local small dipole is formed, which is why the growth of the plasma filament becomes unstable and sometimes breaks. The dense, charged head part breaks away from the channel and changes to the lowest energy state, a sphere. The freely moving identical charges repel each other and try to get as far away from each other as possible, which leads to a hollow or spherical charge distribution, provided that the plasma has surface tension.
A pure, vapor-free gas plasma would dissipate in microseconds in the air. The sphere is a Yukawa dust plasma formed by vapor and other dust, possibly sand and other metal salt impurities from its environment. The floating vapor particles and grains take on a negative charge from the mobile electrons. The charged grains and ions together create a highly viscous, almost liquid-like state (Yukawa plasma). Physicists characterize it with a coupling constant between 50 and 100. The Yukawa plasma forms a boundary layer with cold air, which has a phenomenon similar to surface tension. The Young-Laplace equation describes the phenomenon well. The pressure ΔP that stretches the inner plasma and the external atmospheric pressure are maintained in balance: ΔP = 4γ/D, where D is the diameter of the sphere, gamma denotes the surface tension.
A slow combustion/oxidation process of hydroxyl (-OH) and oxygen radicals resulting from the dissociation of water vapor ensures the losses of the sphere. The chemical energy source continuously and in a controlled manner replaces the radiated heat and light, so that the ball lightning does not go out immediately, but remains stable for seconds or minutes.
The local dipole of the streamer head (electron and ion cloud) creates a high electric field. The accelerated electrons ionize and dissociate the air molecules (nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor). At the end of the process, a high-temperature, ionized gas, plasma, can break off from the streamer and form a sphere. The surface tension of the resulting Yukawa plasma holds the sphere together.
High humidity is also necessary for ball lightning. Hydroxyl (-OH) and oxygen radicals from the dissociation of water vapor feed the chemical reactions. Particles floating near the ground, aerosols, grains of sand or nanoparticles only contaminate the forming sphere.
The magnetic field of the internal currents flowing in the plasma compresses the plasma filament. Due to the longitudinal instability of the filament, the filament breaks into parts, "beads", and then into individual spheres, sometimes into a single sphere. In the streamer head at the end of the plasma filament, due to the field strength of ≈ 107 V/m, an independent, closed local small dipole is formed, which is why the growth of the plasma filament becomes unstable and sometimes breaks. The dense, charged head part breaks away from the channel and changes to the lowest energy state, a sphere. The freely moving identical charges repel each other and try to get as far away from each other as possible, which leads to a hollow or spherical charge distribution, provided that the plasma has surface tension.
A pure, vapor-free gas plasma would dissipate in microseconds in the air. The sphere is a Yukawa dust plasma formed by vapor and other dust, possibly sand and other metal salt impurities from its environment. The floating vapor particles and grains take on a negative charge from the mobile electrons. The charged grains and ions together create a highly viscous, almost liquid-like state (Yukawa plasma). Physicists characterize it with a coupling constant between 50 and 100. The Yukawa plasma forms a boundary layer with cold air, which has a phenomenon similar to surface tension. The Young-Laplace equation describes the phenomenon well. The pressure ΔP that stretches the inner plasma and the external atmospheric pressure are maintained in balance: ΔP = 4γ/D, where D is the diameter of the sphere, gamma denotes the surface tension.
A slow combustion/oxidation process of hydroxyl (-OH) and oxygen radicals resulting from the dissociation of water vapor ensures the losses of the sphere. The chemical energy source continuously and in a controlled manner replaces the radiated heat and light, so that the ball lightning does not go out immediately, but remains stable for seconds or minutes.
The energy of a streamer (pre-lightning) with a current of ≈ 100 A and a length of ≈ 50 m is sufficient to create and maintain a typical ball lightning of average size with a diameter of between 10 cm and 30 cm. The field strength in the streamer channel is about 5 ⋅ 10⁵ V/m. The voltage drop over a 50 m section is 25 million Volts. If the 100 A current peak is present for about 100 μs (10⁻⁴ s), the energy supplied is: 250 kJ. According to observations and plasma models, the internal energy density of an average ball lightning is between 1 J/cm³ and 10 J/cm³. Only a part of the streamer's energy (about 1-5%) is directly converted into the creation of the ball lightning core (matter and plasma), the rest is transferred to the environment as heat, which is about 2500 - 12500 J of pure internal energy. The volume of a sphere with a diameter of 20 cm is approx. 4188 cm³. If we calculate with an energy density of 2 J/cm³, the total internal energy of the sphere is approx. 8300 J, which perfectly corresponds to the energy interval emitted by the streamer.
The plasma of hydroxyl radicals and hydrogen ions generated from water molecules stores a high energy density. Out of the 250 kJ, the water-plasma sphere can store a minimum of 10–25 kJ of internal energy in the volume enclosed by the surface tension, creating a stable plasma sphere with a diameter of 15–20 cm, sometimes the entire plasma filament turns into a sphere. High relative humidity (water vapor) or a direct water surface is required for the sphere to form.
The charged particles on the outer surface of the sphere exhibit a strong cohesive force that behaves like the surface tension of liquids. This surface phenomenon explains why ball lightning can change shape, squeeze through keyholes or window gaps, and then return to a perfect sphere (like a soap bubble) on the other side, something that a solid metal nanoframe cannot.
Ball lightning is also made up of polluted, ionized "water plasma", which is trapped in the sphere by its own electromagnetic field and the surface tension of its charged particles. The model also perfectly explains the smell, as the hydroxyl and oxygen radicals produced when water molecules break apart react with the surrounding air to form ozone and nitrogen oxides, which give it the characteristic pungent smell.
The plasma of hydroxyl radicals and hydrogen ions generated from water molecules stores a high energy density. Out of the 250 kJ, the water-plasma sphere can store a minimum of 10–25 kJ of internal energy in the volume enclosed by the surface tension, creating a stable plasma sphere with a diameter of 15–20 cm, sometimes the entire plasma filament turns into a sphere. High relative humidity (water vapor) or a direct water surface is required for the sphere to form.
The charged particles on the outer surface of the sphere exhibit a strong cohesive force that behaves like the surface tension of liquids. This surface phenomenon explains why ball lightning can change shape, squeeze through keyholes or window gaps, and then return to a perfect sphere (like a soap bubble) on the other side, something that a solid metal nanoframe cannot.
Ball lightning is also made up of polluted, ionized "water plasma", which is trapped in the sphere by its own electromagnetic field and the surface tension of its charged particles. The model also perfectly explains the smell, as the hydroxyl and oxygen radicals produced when water molecules break apart react with the surrounding air to form ozone and nitrogen oxides, which give it the characteristic pungent smell.