Theories of ball lightning formation
(July 2026)
Main characteristics of ball lightning
Sometimes they arise out of nowhere, usually during thunderstorms. They also arise on airplanes, in clear weather, often independently of the ground.
Shape and size: usually 10–40 centimeters in diameter, opalescent, 1000–4000 K spheres. They do not appear hot up close, but they melt metals, burn living organisms, and burn holes in living matter.
Their charge - according to models - is surprisingly small, on the order of nC.
Lifespan: They can exist from a few seconds to a minute or two, compared to the nanosecond flashes of normal line lightning.
Movement: they move slowly, floating, parallel to the ground, near the surface, often following air currents or power lines.
Extinction: they either die quietly or are destroyed with a loud bang, with a characteristic odor.
Three main questions: their origin, their material, and the reason for their spherical shape?
Sometimes they arise out of nowhere, usually during thunderstorms. They also arise on airplanes, in clear weather, often independently of the ground.
Shape and size: usually 10–40 centimeters in diameter, opalescent, 1000–4000 K spheres. They do not appear hot up close, but they melt metals, burn living organisms, and burn holes in living matter.
Their charge - according to models - is surprisingly small, on the order of nC.
Lifespan: They can exist from a few seconds to a minute or two, compared to the nanosecond flashes of normal line lightning.
Movement: they move slowly, floating, parallel to the ground, near the surface, often following air currents or power lines.
Extinction: they either die quietly or are destroyed with a loud bang, with a characteristic odor.
Three main questions: their origin, their material, and the reason for their spherical shape?
Most important theories of origin and operation in the literature
Silicon vapor hypothesis (chemical reaction theory): According to the theory of John Abrahamson and James Dinniss, the heat of linear lightning striking the ground evaporates the silicate minerals in the ground. The sand is reduced by the elemental carbon in the soil, pure silicon is formed, the evaporated silicon forms a nanoframe, and reacts with the oxygen in the air to form a slowly burning, luminous sphere. The theory is supported by the fact that Chinese researchers managed to film natural ball lightning for the first time in 2012, and during spectral analysis they found silicon, iron and calcium in it. However, there are ball lightning observations and formations where there is no metal dust, only air, or possibly steam.
Plasma theory: ball lightning is a hot, ionized gas ball (air plasma), which is stabilized and held together by electromagnetic fields in the atmosphere, and heated by negative differential resistance.
Pre-lightning theory: According to István Bencsik, it is generated from invisible streamer heads, held together by the surface tension of the Yukawa dust plasma, and heated by the recombination energy of silicon dust or/and water vapor (-OH radicals).
Electromagnetic and microwave theory (P.L. Kapica): the intense electromagnetic radiation or microwaves formed between storm clouds and the ground create an energy core (standing wave and held together by the gradient of the force field) in the air, which ionizes the gases.
Tar Domokos (water-plasma / double layer model): According to his theory, developed based on his 1954 observation on Margaret Island, ball lightning is a rotating vortex of gas and steam, formed by ionized water vapor ejected from the channel of the lightning strike. The stability of the ball is ensured by the electric double layer (polarized charge arrangement) formed on its outer surface.
Superconducting water shell model. The theory of Canadian researcher D.B. Muldrew is based on the extreme behavior of water molecules. The core of ball lightning is a highly charged ionized gas (plasma), which is surrounded by an outer shell of polarized water molecules. According to Muldrew, the water droplets are arranged in a special structure under the influence of lightning, which is able to maintain high electrostatic pressure even at room temperature, preventing the immediate explosive expansion of the plasma, and there is also an oscillating version.
Silicon vapor hypothesis (chemical reaction theory): According to the theory of John Abrahamson and James Dinniss, the heat of linear lightning striking the ground evaporates the silicate minerals in the ground. The sand is reduced by the elemental carbon in the soil, pure silicon is formed, the evaporated silicon forms a nanoframe, and reacts with the oxygen in the air to form a slowly burning, luminous sphere. The theory is supported by the fact that Chinese researchers managed to film natural ball lightning for the first time in 2012, and during spectral analysis they found silicon, iron and calcium in it. However, there are ball lightning observations and formations where there is no metal dust, only air, or possibly steam.
Plasma theory: ball lightning is a hot, ionized gas ball (air plasma), which is stabilized and held together by electromagnetic fields in the atmosphere, and heated by negative differential resistance.
Pre-lightning theory: According to István Bencsik, it is generated from invisible streamer heads, held together by the surface tension of the Yukawa dust plasma, and heated by the recombination energy of silicon dust or/and water vapor (-OH radicals).
Electromagnetic and microwave theory (P.L. Kapica): the intense electromagnetic radiation or microwaves formed between storm clouds and the ground create an energy core (standing wave and held together by the gradient of the force field) in the air, which ionizes the gases.
Tar Domokos (water-plasma / double layer model): According to his theory, developed based on his 1954 observation on Margaret Island, ball lightning is a rotating vortex of gas and steam, formed by ionized water vapor ejected from the channel of the lightning strike. The stability of the ball is ensured by the electric double layer (polarized charge arrangement) formed on its outer surface.
Superconducting water shell model. The theory of Canadian researcher D.B. Muldrew is based on the extreme behavior of water molecules. The core of ball lightning is a highly charged ionized gas (plasma), which is surrounded by an outer shell of polarized water molecules. According to Muldrew, the water droplets are arranged in a special structure under the influence of lightning, which is able to maintain high electrostatic pressure even at room temperature, preventing the immediate explosive expansion of the plasma, and there is also an oscillating version.
Conclusions
Externally excited models, such as Kapica's microwave standing waves, Tesla's high-frequency fields or Lowke's leakage currents, have been pushed into the background: autonomous spherical explanations have become widespread, e.g. silicon models, and the polarized water envelope, which has surface tension, because the cause of the spherical shape cannot be a central force field of unknown origin, which would be a new interaction, and most of the models leave the cause of the spherical shape unanswered, although the cause of the spherical shape could also be a Si nanoframe.
Externally excited models, such as Kapica's microwave standing waves, Tesla's high-frequency fields or Lowke's leakage currents, have been pushed into the background: autonomous spherical explanations have become widespread, e.g. silicon models, and the polarized water envelope, which has surface tension, because the cause of the spherical shape cannot be a central force field of unknown origin, which would be a new interaction, and most of the models leave the cause of the spherical shape unanswered, although the cause of the spherical shape could also be a Si nanoframe.
The material of the balls: (Ptolemy: c. 90 BC – c. 168: "We consider it a good principle to explain phenomena with the simplest possible hypothesis." The principle of simplicity, "lex parsimoniae" does not exclude complex solutions, but requires that we proceed from the simplest to the most complex explanations. The origin, material and operation of ball lightning are related phenomena. In the simplest case, the materials of ball lightning can be materials of the air and soil, and their origin is related to lightning. According to the simplest assumption, the material is a 1000 - 4000 Kelvin plasma composed of contaminated nitrogen and oxygen ions. Pollution is important because during the time of levitation there is a large loss of energy, heat and radiation, and this loss can be ensured by the combustion of pollution, possible pollutants are substances in the air and soil, their ions, high-temperature radicals, components. The charge of the spheres - according to the models - is surprisingly small, on the order of nC.
The material of the ball is determined by more than a decade of measurements by Chinese researchers. There is an observed spectrum of ball lightning, which also supports the presence of metal contaminants: a Chinese research team managed to observe a natural ball lightning with a spectrometer in 2012, and found silicon, iron and calcium in its spectrum.
[Cen, J., Yuan, P., & Xue, S. (2014). Observation of the optical and spectral characteristics of ball lightning. Physical Review Letters, 112(3), Article 035001. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.035001
Cen, Jianyong; Yuan, Ping; Xue, Simin (2014. January 17.). “Observation of the optical and spectral characteristics of ball lightning”. Physical Review Letters .112(3) and 035001.Bibcode:2014PhRvL.112c5001C.doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.035001.PMID24484145].
Based on the analysis of data from the 2012 Chinese research, the outer layer of the sphere and the burning soil particles (silicon, iron, calcium) inside could only have been around 2400 and 4300 degrees Celsius on average. The common "pollutant" in the air is water vapor (and carbon, carbon compounds, which burn too quickly), which the Chinese researchers did not examine.
By the end of 2010, the Abrahamson-Dinniss theory was accepted, according to which the heat of a line lightning strike on the ground evaporates the silicate minerals in the ground. The sand and silicon dioxide are reduced by the elemental carbon in the soil, pure silicon is formed, and the evaporated silicon forms a nanoframe, which reacts with the oxygen in the air to slowly burn and glow. Objections have been raised regarding the flexibility, shape, and durability of the nanoframe. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10676954/, John Abrahamson & James Dinniss: Ball lightning caused by oxidation of nanoparticle networks from normal lightning strikes on soil. Nature, Volume 403, Issue 6769, pp. 519–521., 2000. February 3.)
Spectrum of a ball lightning (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_lightning)
Laboratories have succeeded in producing luminous spheres from silicon. The interesting thing about the Max Planck Institute experiments is that the spheres were always produced in the presence of water. The high-voltage discharges occurred on the surface of the water or under water. The electric arc vaporizes and ionizes the water molecules, creating a temporary plasma cloud. According to the latest measurements, the interior of the luminous sphere is filled with a water aerosol. The electrical charges of the water droplets and the silica nanoparticles hold the sphere together, preventing the plasma from spreading immediately, and the pure plasma would disappear in a thousandth of a second. The reaction of the water vapor and silicon, as well as the surrounding moist air (70% humidity is ideal), slows down the oxidation process and allows the spheres to glow and move for 0.5–8 seconds. The problem with the experiments is that silicon burns too quickly and is too heavy. A sphere with a diameter of 80 cm or an 80-second duration, which can be proven by modeling, cannot be created because it will go out or fall, so the research continues. The sphere has a charge of ≈ 10-12 Coulombs (i.e. 1 picocoulomb). According to measurements and models, this minimal electrical charge is responsible for the electrostatic binding of the loosely bound silica nanoparticles that make up the outer shell of the sphere to the inner silicon core. The electrical interaction creates the porous network-like structure, mixed with water aerosol, that prevents the plasma from immediately dispersing and ensures the structural stability of the sphere during its lifetime of seconds. As soon as the water droplets are exhausted, the cohesive force between the charges ceases and the structure holding the sphere falls apart.
Contaminated air plasmas
Contaminants can be thought of as substances occurring in the soil and air, primarily water vapor and silicon. One of the favorable properties of contaminated plasmas, Yukawa dust plasmas, is that they exhibit a phenomenon similar to surface tension, which may be responsible for the spherical shape. Another favorable property is that when the pollutant is water, the hydroxyl -OH radical is an excellent fuel, because during the recombination process, enough heat is released for large spheres in the Bencsik model (https://bencsik.rs3.hu/component/content/category/1051-para-alapu-goembvillam-modell.html?). The model also works in the case of silicon pollution, as long as there is little silicon, up to 30-40 cm in diameter, after which it falls. While the recombination of the -OH radical is a self-regulating process, and the sphere floats.
The simplest possible hypothesis is water. One of the known formations of -OH radicals occurs in pre-lightning (streamers), and their charge is similar to the charge of ball lightning. Typical values of streamer heads: electric field strength ranges between 100 kV/cm and 200 kV/cm. At the tip of the head, the local field strength, due to the nonlinear space charge concentration, greatly exceeds the macroscopic breakdown strength of clean air (~ 30 km/cm) and allows for continuous ionization of gases. The radius of the streamer head at ground atmospheric pressure is between 0.1 mm and a few millimeters. The radius and the curvature determine the extent of the field strength increase; at higher altitudes, for example in upper atmosphere sprites, this size can expand to meters or even kilometers due to the thinner air. The propagation speed of the head varies between 10⁵ m/s and 10⁷ m/s (0.1% - 3% of the speed of light). It strongly depends on the surrounding background electric field and the degree of ionization in the head. At the streamer head, the electron density in the pre-lightning channel reaches 10¹³ - 10¹⁴ cm⁻³. The isolated space charge concentrated in the streamer head is of the order of 10⁸ - 10⁹ elementary charges (0.16 nC, electron or positive ion). The conductivity of the channel formed behind the head is of the order of ~ 10⁻² Ω⁻¹cm⁻¹, which ensures the charge supply between the head and the ground.
The transformation of the streamer (~100A, ~50m) into a ball lightning (provides an explanation for the formation and mysterious energy balance of ball lightning. If the top of the pre-lightning does not encounter a counter-discharge, the streamer becomes electrically isolated and independent of the system.At the tip of the moving streamer, a high electric field strength of 100–200 kV/cm and so-called “hot” electrons with energies of 10–20 eV are concentrated. The high energy density is trapped in a local plasma ball. The hot electrons in the streamer head break the chemical bonds of the molecules in the air (carbon compounds, water vapor, nitrogen, oxygen) under the influence of the enormous field strength. When the chemical energy begins to be slowly and evenly released (recombination), it continuously heats and makes the ball glow. The streamer head theory answers the two most important questions: the plasma ball does not explode immediately due to internal current eddies and surface tension, but remains together for seconds, and also its lifespan. Ball lightning does not need an external energy source, because the streamer head sustains itself from previously stored chemical energy.