Description of Bencsik's ball lightning model
(August 20, 2026)
Abstract
Bencsik's phenomenological ball lightning model: ball lightning is a strongly coupled, charged aerosol-plasma system created by lightning, containing soil-derived materials, fly ash* and ionized air, water vapor. In Yukawa dust plasmas, the collective surface energy resulting from shielding, which is a phenomenon similar to surface tension, balances the internal plasma pressure and ensures the formation of a nearly spherical elastic structure. The various processes taking place in the outer reaction zone, but especially the hydroxyl radical recombination and oxidation, maintain the temperature of the system and the spherical shape in a self-regulated manner for a few seconds, a few 10 seconds. If there is enough vapor, hydroxyl radicals are continuously produced. The model was designed to be consistent with the 2012 spectral measurements of Chinese researchers. (https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.035001), which detected silicon, calcium and iron in a natural ball lightning, and the temperatures estimated there, also matches the video, which is the best quality available on the internet https://www.24h.com.vn/media-24h/bi-an-hien-tuong-set-hon-cuc-hiem-trong-tu-nhien-c762a1479345.html.
Ball lightning is modeled as a strongly coupled (Γ = 50-100) dust particle plasma (Yukawa dust plasma). The essence of the formation process is that the thermal energy of a conventional lightning strike pulverizes and partially ionizes the materials into dust, ash and dissociated vapor are formed, and during cooling, the special electric shielding between the dust particles (the Yukawa potential) surface energy/surface tension-like effect ensures the stabilization of the spherical shape. When a ball lightning appears unexpectedly, after invisible antecedents, then another model is needed for its formation, provided that there is enough ash and hydroxyl radicals in the air: a streamer, the tip of an invisible pre-lightning, is the origin, which is a sufficiently high-energy phenomenon.
The phases of ball lightning formation can be divided into steps:
1. Material evaporation, ejection of particles and nanoparticles. When a lightning bolt strikes the ground (or a metal object, a tree), the current of tens of thousands of amperes and the sudden high temperature evaporate and dissociate the minerals (silicon, calcium, iron), dioxides, moisture or metals in the ground. The steam quickly condenses in the air and forms submicron-sized nanoparticles (ash dust), ions and radicals.
2. Charge accumulation and ionization:
The phases of ball lightning formation can be divided into steps:
1. Material evaporation, ejection of particles and nanoparticles. When a lightning bolt strikes the ground (or a metal object, a tree), the current of tens of thousands of amperes and the sudden high temperature evaporate and dissociate the minerals (silicon, calcium, iron), dioxides, moisture or metals in the ground. The steam quickly condenses in the air and forms submicron-sized nanoparticles (ash dust), ions and radicals.
2. Charge accumulation and ionization:
The hot gases in the vicinity of a lightning strike contain many free electrons and ions (the traditional plasma state). The dust particles formed from the vapors - which are often assumed to be positively charged - take on a large negative electrical charge, as they continuously capture the extremely mobile free electrons.
3. Transition to the Yukawa plasma state
As the ejected fly ash and metal powder begin to cool and granulate, the system transitions to a strongly coupled, particle-particle plasma state. The Yukawa potential and Debye shielding: the free electrons and ions of the plasma shield the Coulomb interaction between the charged particles, thus transforming it into a short-range Yukawa interaction. In the strongly coupled state, this results in a liquid-like, surface energy, and voltage-like behavior in the collective particle system. The effect does not eliminate the electrostatic repulsion between the particles, but rather limits its range through shielding. The resulting collective surface tension-like effect maintains a spherical shape with minimal energy in the direction opposite to the internal thermal, plasma pressure, and possible electrical pressure. The spherical geometry is caused by a collective effect similar to the surface tension of liquids at the interface of the Yukawa plasma.
4. Self-sustaining surface heating
The ball lightning cools down slowly because the materials (such as metal particles or atmospheric -OH radicals) undergo slow recombination and chemical oxidation at the plasma surface. The recombination and chemical heating at the surface ensure the stability of the ball and electron emission, maintaining the charges necessary for the Yukawa interaction until the “fuel” is exhausted.
3. Transition to the Yukawa plasma state
As the ejected fly ash and metal powder begin to cool and granulate, the system transitions to a strongly coupled, particle-particle plasma state. The Yukawa potential and Debye shielding: the free electrons and ions of the plasma shield the Coulomb interaction between the charged particles, thus transforming it into a short-range Yukawa interaction. In the strongly coupled state, this results in a liquid-like, surface energy, and voltage-like behavior in the collective particle system. The effect does not eliminate the electrostatic repulsion between the particles, but rather limits its range through shielding. The resulting collective surface tension-like effect maintains a spherical shape with minimal energy in the direction opposite to the internal thermal, plasma pressure, and possible electrical pressure. The spherical geometry is caused by a collective effect similar to the surface tension of liquids at the interface of the Yukawa plasma.
4. Self-sustaining surface heating
The ball lightning cools down slowly because the materials (such as metal particles or atmospheric -OH radicals) undergo slow recombination and chemical oxidation at the plasma surface. The recombination and chemical heating at the surface ensure the stability of the ball and electron emission, maintaining the charges necessary for the Yukawa interaction until the “fuel” is exhausted.
The model features: ball lightning is an extremely hot, atomic, ionic core inside, and a cloud-like chemical plasma ball on the outside, the structure and dynamics of which are consistent with the Chinese 2012 spectrum recording and the video recording above:
1. Material evaporation from the ground
When line lightning strikes the ground, it evaporates the silicon, iron and calcium in the soil. The Chinese spectrum recordings clearly demonstrated that during the entire lifetime of ball lightning, atomic emission lines of silicon (Si), iron (Fe) and calcium (Ca) dominate, which modifies the pure gas plasma theories.
1. Material evaporation from the ground
When line lightning strikes the ground, it evaporates the silicon, iron and calcium in the soil. The Chinese spectrum recordings clearly demonstrated that during the entire lifetime of ball lightning, atomic emission lines of silicon (Si), iron (Fe) and calcium (Ca) dominate, which modifies the pure gas plasma theories.
2. Ball lightning is not of uniform temperature, but maintains a sharp radial temperature gradient: ~3000 K in the inner core and perhaps a few hundred K above in the center. At this temperature, the silicon is not present in the form of nanoparticles, but as fully dissociated, gas-phase atomic silicon. The outer surface (~2000 K and a few hundred K above): the outermost layer of the ball, in contact with the environment, is the coldest, with a temperature of slightly above 2000 Kelvin.
3. Cloud-like, uneven shape: in contrast to the smooth, liquid-like surface of Yukawa dust plasmas, this formation does not have a smooth surface. The metal vapors flowing outward from the inner hot core continuously condense and swirl when they meet the colder ambient air. The surface of the ball is visually and structurally like a densely billowing, glowing cloud, where gases and vapors recombine and condensing aerosol phases mix.
4. It cools down slowly, within seconds, due to the heating effect of surface chemical recombination
The self-sustaining nature of ball lightning is ensured not by the combustion of the internal dust, but by the continuous release of energy on its surface. The high-temperature dissociated materials (ions, atoms, O/H/... other reactive gas components, mainly hydroxyl radicals) flowing from the inner, 4000 K core towards the surface recombine and oxidize upon reaching the 2000 K zone. The series of surface chemical exothermic reactions and the union of ions produce the heat that protects the inner atomic core from sudden cooling and ensures the characteristic opalescent light of ball lightning, (See the video above) and the levitation.
4. It cools down slowly, within seconds, due to the heating effect of surface chemical recombination
The self-sustaining nature of ball lightning is ensured not by the combustion of the internal dust, but by the continuous release of energy on its surface. The high-temperature dissociated materials (ions, atoms, O/H/... other reactive gas components, mainly hydroxyl radicals) flowing from the inner, 4000 K core towards the surface recombine and oxidize upon reaching the 2000 K zone. The series of surface chemical exothermic reactions and the union of ions produce the heat that protects the inner atomic core from sudden cooling and ensures the characteristic opalescent light of ball lightning, (See the video above) and the levitation.