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    ORNL-3 38

    PREZIMIMARY REPORT ON BALL LIGHTNINGJ . Rand McXally, J r .

    MAY 1966

    OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABOIWTORYOak Ridge , Tennessee

    ope r a t e d byUNION CAHETDE CORPORATION

    for the

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    J . Rand McNall.y, Jr.Oak Ridge PJat;ional L a b o r a t o r p

    T h i s r e p o r t i s an e x te ns ion o f remr.ks made i n 8 l96cJ pa-pe'l and wasprepared about !)r.cem'oer, 1960 Though out3 of da te i n s e v e r a l r?spec' ts( e . g . , the p o s s i b l e r o l e s of active ni.i;rogen and of se l f - b ind i ng p la smaforces , e t c . ) and perhaps erroneous i n ot'ners, +;he or ig in a l unpubl i shedreport i s s t i l l b e i n g r eq u e s te d b y i n d i v i d u a l s c i e n t i s t s and r e f e r e n c eagenc ies . The report, wt-th minor. changes, i s riow (March, 1.9%) be ingplaced i n o f f i c i a l d oc um en ta ti on c ha nn el s t o make i t more r c a i t i l y availableto in teres -Led sou rces . The foll owi ng abst ,raet sccoripanied t h e oral paper:" B a l l l i g h t n i n g i s a possible Stiz 'Ole plasma co rifi gur ati oil and herlee m ym e r i t some c o n s i d e r a t i o n i n t h e f i e l d of i;l-iernionilclea,r research. A s-u-veyof 1.5,923 Union Carbide Nuclear Company personnel in Oak Ridge: has beenmade wi th 498 r e p o r t s of u.nusua1 l i g h t n i n g phenoniena which -the observersthought rnay have been r e l a t e d t o b a l l l i g h t n i n g . Some of the r e s u l t s 05'Lhe survey will be presented ."

    ,>L.

    *Research sponsored by the U. . A t o m i c Energy Commission under c0ntrac.t;'Ball Lightni-ng - A Swvey, Proc. Second Annual Meeting Div. Plasma Physics,with Union Carbide Corporation.Gatlir iburg, Tenn., Nov. 2-5 (1960). See B ul l . Ani. Ph.ys. SOC. 5, 02 (1.961).'P. L. Kapitza, Proc. Acad. Sei. USSR -01, 24!1 (1945); V. D. ghafranov, J.Ex p t l . Theor. Phys. 33, '110 (1957), t ransla tef l in Soviet Physics - JETP 5,202 (1961).

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    ~P'KELIMLNARY.-. RFlPORT ON BALL LTGIITNTNGxJ . Rand IvIcNally, J r .

    O a k Ridge Nat ional LaboratoryOak Ridge, Tennessec

    D T R O D U C T J O NThe s h d y o f r a r e and c o n t ro v e r s i a l e v e n t s i n n a t u ra l phenomena. some-

    t i m e s l e a d s t o ne w ba s ic concep ts a f fec t i -n g ii ripo rtai it a re as of physical .research . Thus , i.t, i s p o s s i b l e t h a t a11 adm ixtur e of i-deas g1.eani.d fromb a l l l i g h t n i n g o b s e r v a ti o n s and from t h e f i e l d o f pla,sma physics may bernutual ly reward in^, The f a c t t h a t a n e v e n t i s ra.re arid t h a t "It appearst h a t no p r o f e s s i o n a l observers of t h e wea.ther, such a s meteoro log i s i s ,have ever seen a f i - re -ba l l " ' does riot de'ii.act from t h e u n u su a l c h a ra c t e ro f th e many l i t e r a t u r e repo : rt s, wihich i n d i c a t e t h e e x i s t e n c e o f e x tr e me lyunusual plasma 01' ga s d i s c h a r g e p r o p e r t i e s .

    " B a l l l . igh tn ing" , a s a po ss i b le s t ab le pJ-asnia con f igu ra t i on , i s r e -c e i v in g i n c r ea s i n g em ph asis i n r e s e a r c h e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e USSR. Exceptp o s s i b l y f o r the con tro ver s iaL Cougnard deioni zur , designed t o mini-mizeb a l l . l i g h t n i n g damage t o hig h vol' iage transmj-ssion l i .ne equipment, no prac-t i c a l . a p p l i c a t i o n seems t o have been developed.

    23

    It i s e n t i r e l y p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e r e may b e s e ve ra l. d i f f e r e n t p h y s i c a lforms of " b a l l l i g h t n i n g " , e ac h e x h i h i .t i n g i t s own c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s e t o fp r o p e r t i e s . The phenomena a r e de f i n i t e ly i.n t h e rare even t ca tegory andr e p o r t e d c a s e s are u s u a l l y i n t e r p r e t e d as orit. of' several. types or atmo-s p h e r i c type discharges.*P r es e nt e d i n p a r t a i the Second Annua.1 Meeting o f th e Div i s ion o f P lasma

    Phys ics of th e American Ph ys ica l Soc iety , Gatlin burg , Tennessee, November2-5, 1960, P a p r J-1s.

    'B. F. J . Schonland, The b ' l ight of Thunderbol ts ,_. Oxford a t the ClarendonPress , p . 51 (1 9 5 0 ) .'1). J . R i t c h i e , Mi s s i l e s and Rockets, August 24, 1959.'H. N . Ekvall, Elec1,rica.l World, p. 85 , March 11, 1957.

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    - 3 -

    The air- bor ne, bouncing, spinn ing, o r r o l l i ng va r i e t , i . e s o f f i r e - b a l l swh ic h e i the r radiate and decay s lc -wly , o r d isappesr explos ive ly rec*uu l in gin cons ide rab le hea t ing or damage , s ~ g g e s t hat ; s i gn i f i c a n t e ner gy i ss t or e d i n t h e f i r e - b a l l - p o s s i b l y megajou-les.by b a l l 1.igh.t;ning has been repor.ted6 or sugges ted .

    4,s Carb riizi g of himans7

    The character is-Lies of' th e l ig h t n i ng b ol t s which a ,pparen. tly produceb a l l lFghf ;n ing a re no t known i n d e t a i l . In geaera l , however, liy 'ntnings t r o k e s may involve up to 164 couI.ombs, ulj to sev-era1 kilomegavol.ts oten-t i a l d i f f e r e n c e s , and up t o about 20 kiloriiegajoules. Most curren'c st ro ke sare l e s s t ha n 10" amperes b u t have been repor ted , on ya r e oc c a sions , t oexceed 2 x I O 3 amperes. The breakdown p o t e n t i a l of d r y a i r i s about50,000 volts /crn and proba bly l e s s than 10,000 volts /cm f o r moist air.

    r- 5,13

    Var ious a t tempts kiiLve been made t o e x p l ai n the nature of b a l l l i g h t -9 l onirig i n terms of chemical. disso ciat, io n arid i.oni.zation phenomena. Kapitza

    oppo:ses such hypotheses on t he g rounds o f i n s u f f i c i e n t e ne r gy s t o rag e byt h i s means. He also es t imates t h e decay time t o be of o l d e r 0 . 0 1 secondsfor a 10 cui d iamete r f i r e - b a l l by comparison wi th th e decay pr op er t i e s ofa miclear f i r e - b a l l . The s t o r e d e n er g y of a f u l l y clissoc:i.ated. arid once

    L . Tonks, Nature 187 2.915 (1960) es-Limates 0.36 megajoul.es t o t a l rad ia-t i o n f o r a p a r t i c u h r i d ea l i ze d case (10 ern diarneter) .B o L . Goodlet, J . I n s t . El ec t . Eng. -,1 1 ( 1957) e s t ims te s 1 o 11mega-j o u l e s f o r a n actual fire-ball the s i z e of which w.s r e p o r t e d t o be t h a tof' a, large orange.14. C e r r i l l o (1944), t r a n s l a t i o n a v a il a b le , R. Hines and. P. A . S i l b e r g ,Advanced Development Laboratory, Raytheon Coripany, Wayland, Massachusetts

    4 -,rI

    6

    7C. Benedicks, Arkiv. P. Geofysik 2, 1 (1951) .'W. W. Lewis, Pr ot ec t i on of Transmission Systems Aga ins t L ightn ing , John

    ' S e e rcview by E . L . H i l l , J. (kophys . Mag.I5, 1947 (1960)."5'. L. Kapitza, Proc. Acad. Sei. USSR -31 0 1 245 (1955); PhysikalischeWiley S: Sons, Inc., N . Y. (1950).B l a t t e r - (1958).

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    ion ized cubic cen t ime te r of a i r i s about 160 joule^.^t h e estimaates of 'ionks (- '700joules) and Goodl.et (- 16,000 j o u l e s ) forenergy requirem ents. filul.tip1.e io ni za ti o n would account f o r a d d i t i o n a ls-tored energy.

    T h i s i s l e s s t h an

    There are c e r t a i n b a s ic quest

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    A no th er p o s s i b l e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of' a. ball l i g h t n i n g t yp e m y be t h a tit i n c l u d e s a c i r c u l a r o r r i n g c u r r e n t i n e q ui l ib r iu m w i t h t h e p r e s s u r eof t he ex te rn al a tmosphere. Shafranov' proposed. such a t h eo r y f o r r i n g(presumably e le c t r on ) cu r re n t p inches i.n s t a b l e e q u i l i b r i u m c o n f i g u r at i o n sde f ine d by (a) a g r a v i t a t i o n a l f i e l d , (b) an e x t e r n a l gas p r e ss u r e ( b a l llightning), o r ( c ) a n e x t e r n a l magnetic f i e l d .p l a s m i nvo lv ing a n i o n c u r r e n t : r ing i n e qu i li . b riwn i n only a m i r r o r mag-n e t l c field has also been suggested. l4concept o f p:Lasrra r i n g s i n c o nn ec ti on . w i t h r 'col. ierent" acc el er a t or work.Earlier, Kolobkov" d is c u s s ed meclianisms for producing s u c h a r o t a t i o n a lmot ion i n t h e l i g h t n i n g b i x l l by (a) k in k i n s t a b i l i t y o f a ligh-Lnirlg dis-c ha r ge o r ( b ) near crossirig of' two c u r r e n t d i s c h a r g e s i.n oppos.i.te d i r e c t i o n s .The #a f i e l d a s s o ci a t ed w i t h a rflagnetie compression of' plasm, r e s u l t i n gfrom the -tremendous I of a iig htn 'in g b o l t may be ario.ttier I n c c h ~ i I l i s n lf o rinduc ing such ring cur'ren1;s.

    13

    A model for a. thermonuclear

    Veksleu" has a l s o d i s c u s s e d t h e

    01.7

    It i s , of course , possi'ole t h a t g e ne r at i on of a f i r e - b a l l 'by- K q i . t z a ' smodel might r e su l t i n a stable cor i f igurak ion possess ing an i n l i e r e n t l y largeamount o f stored energy. Thus, t h e waveleng th of the e1eci;romagnetic vi-b r a t io ns r e qu i re d . by I iapi tza t o develop a, p l ~ ~ x n aphere of ' diameter (3. i sA = 3 . 65 d whereas t h e "d.eRroglie wa-veleng-Lh" as so c ia t ed w i t i n a r i I ig c u r -rent, can be ),' = 3.14 d ' , where d ' i s t h e ring d i , m e t e r .

    ''11. D. Shafranov, J. Exptl. Theoret. Phys. -3, '710 (19571, t m n s l a t i o r i i.n14J-. R. McNally, Jr., unpubl ished n ia te r ia l (Dec., 1957); "On -the Energy

    Sovi.et Pi-iysics - JETP -, 545, 1958.Dependence of the DCX T y p e of Sherwood Device'!, urip ubli shed (Aug., 1958) ;"The Direc l ; Current Experjment (UCX) arid High Teniperature Measurementsi n the Carbon Arc", paper i n Op ti ca l Spe ctro met r ic &kasu.rermxits of' fi ighTerriperntures, U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago, Universi ty o f Chicago Press (1961).

    15Private conlrnunication t o J . Neufeld by V . I . .Veksler d u ri n g h i s v i s i tt o Oak.Ridge Ma-Lional La'boratory-, NOT. 16, 1959.N. V. Kolobkov, Atmosphe15c E l e c tr i c i ty , p . 47-50 (1951) ..6.See, for example, V. Josephson, &I61. Dazey, and R. E '. Wuerker, ST L Re-p o r t TH-60-0000-L9258 1960) for Br compressi.on experiment l e a d i n g t o ar i n g cur ren t . i;

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    -6-

    , 1l n e r e appear t h e n t o be v a l i d r e as o ns f o r su.rvil.yi.ng t he f i . e ld of ba l l .l i g h t n i n g f o r p h y s i c a l p r o p e r t i e s . r el a te d to a, plasma o r thermoniJ.clearsystem i n a s t a t i c or even dynamic type of eq1~i l . ib r i .manalogous t o S h af -ranov ' s model..

    SURVLYS1.8 20Brand, i h ~ n p h r e y s , ~ ~nd Rodewald have c o l l e c t ed numerous acco unt s

    of bal .1 l ight , i i ing 1:eports and. attempted t o eval.irate them. Brand be li ev ed23.5 of 600 accounts t o be de ta i l ed enough t o i n s u r e a c e r t a i n d e g r e e ofc on fide nc e i n t h e i r va lue . B r and 's s m r ~ r y , va il ab le i n C-oodJlet s a r t i c l e ,i s q u i t e ex ce ll en t. Hurnphreys exami.ned 280 accounts and concI.uded t h a tnone of t h e s e were aut hen t ic i re - ba l l s . Rodewald d is cus ses about 15 cases .

    5

    A pr e l imina r y su r vey i n t he form o f a que s t ionna i r e w a s made of OakRidge National. Lab oratory monthly r o l e personnel. . A t o t a l o f 110 i n d i v i d -u a l s repor ted observations on "b all . l.i.ghtning" f o r R r e t u - n of 5 .6 perc e n i obse r va t ions from a s t a i i s t i c a l sample o f 1962 gzople. The completesurvey o f all Union Carbide n'ucI.ear Compny personnel i n Oak Ridge r e s u l t e dj ~ n grand tota l . of 513 r e po r t s f r om a s t a t i s t i c a l sangle of 15 ,923 ind i -v i d u a l s (3 .1%) The dj..fference i n these pc rcentages i s proba.bly s i .gnif i . -cant b u t no expl.anation i s proposed, a1.though it may be associa'ied with'die wider geographical background of ~ ' Z L C ~ monlh1.y role OHlJL sample.

    Tsb2.e T i.s a, copy o f t he que s t ionna i r e d i s t r i bu te d in the survey .Tables 11-XI i s t somc o f t h e yesults. No c r o s s - c o r r e l a t i o n s hsve beenmade. Table XI1 l i s t s some of th e more human in -t er es t sug gest ions andcomments. 'l 'able XI11 grives some o f .the actual . observat i-ons.

    It shou1.d be r e a l i z e d that t he inc lu s ion o f l e ad ing , mu l t ip l e c ho ic eq ue st io n s o f f e r s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of pyschoiogical bi.as i n t he results ob-tained. However, it should al.so be r e a l - i ze d th a t i n s ampling 1 5 , 9 2 3 i n d i -v i d u a l s i t would be q u i te d i f f i c u l t tc ob-Lain omple i z ly unbiased. responses7.n a n y t e s t i n g where physri.ol.ogica.1 and psychologica l r e sponses a r e involved .

    ..-.._.I'%. Brand, "Der Kugel.bI.ltz", H a b u r g (132.3) .19-.20

    W . J . Humphyeys, Proc. Am. P h i l . Soc. 76, 613 (1936) .M. ~ o d e w a ~ ,. Me e r o l o g i e E, 2 (1954) .

    -

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    A. summary ofa l l y o ccu r as .thei n space a l t h o u g h

    the observa t io r i s suggests t h a t l i g h t n i n g b a l l s (1) m i -result of l i g h t n i n g d i s c h ar g e; ( 2 ) o r i g i n a t e r a nd omlya r e oPteri i n i t i a l l y a s s o c ia t e d w i th w ir es o r s t r u c t u r e s;

    (3 ) a r e f r e q u e n t l y a i r -b o r n e o r p a r t l y a i r -b o r n e ; ( 4 ) move rando&- i nspace o r a l o n g c o n d u c t o r s and o f t e n ti m e s e x h t b i t a r-o ll i .ng or sp in nin gmotion; (5 ) a r e iusually abou-t 1 0 i n c h e s i n d i a me t e r ; ( 6 ) a e u s u a l l y s p h e r -i c a l i n shape; ( 7 ) a r e v e r y r a r e l y g re en o r violet i n c o l o r b u t a r e f Y e -quuen1;ly muti-colored ( t h e w h i t e a nd b l u e -w h i t e b a l l s a r e u s u a l l y v e r y h o ta n d b r i l 1 i a n . t arid o f t e n c a u se c o n s i d e r a b l e dxrxige) ; (8 ) have a median dura-t i o n of a b o u t 3-4 seconds; (9 ) usu a l l y decay q u i te sudden ly ( sometimesexplos iv-ely) ; (1 0 ) g e n e ra l l y do riot ar"fect t h e v i s i o n u n l e s s o:P t h e whiteor b l u e - w h it e c a t e g o r y an d c l o s e t o t h e o b s e r v e r. In numerous c a s e s o t h e rs u p p o r t i n g witriesses were on h an d an d g av e e s s e n t i a l l y t h e same d e t a i l s .

    'Yhe s t a t i s t i c s c om pile d a g r e e i n g e n e r a l w i t h other o b s e r v at i o n s r e -5, 18-21p o r t e d i n t he l i t e r a t u r e . 'There s no doubt tha t some of thein

    f a l l i n t o t h e c a t e g o r y ~f "St. Elmo's F i r e " , "J ~a co b' s Ladder'")C*y and othert y p e d isc har ges inv o lv ing conciuc to rs o r a conductor and t h e atnosphere ;however, -there s a s u r p r i s j - n g l y l a r g e nunber o f the i i id iv idua l , a i r -bo rne ,f r e e - f l o a t i n g type (1 4 4 i n s t a n c e s plus 90 which were a i r -borne p a r t - t i m e )t o wh-ich Kap i tza ' s pos tu la te of s tanding waves m y no t appl.y, a c c o rd i n g t oTonks. No reports of beaded o r r o s a r y l i g h t n i n g were rria.de.

    *

    4

    ' k e e , also , H. Nauer, TJmschau F o r t s c h r . Wiss. u. Tech. 56, 75 (1956);J . C. Jensen , Phys ics 4, 372 (1.933).%lameda f t e r St. Erasmus (died A.D. 303?) who under the p e r s e c u t i o n ofDiocletian w a s t o r tu r e d , r o l l e d i n pitch and sei; a f i r e . H e remained isn-i i ixrt, was rei.mpsisoried .to be s t a r v e d t o death but was repor ed ly f r e e dby an a n g e l . Yhe b l u e g l o w i n g l i g h t s (corona dischrz-r*ge) r;ornet:'!.mes seena t mastheads b efo re and a f t e r s t o r m s were thought; by the Nespol i tar i sea-men to b e s i g n s of t h e i r patron's p r o t e c t i o n and were c a l l e d St. EZi i io ' sf i r e (Erasmus through the years became Erasnus, Ermus, Erne, ;znd f i n a l l yElmo). S t . Elmo's f i r e i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d as a h igh vol'i;sge, low cu r ren td i s c h a rg e . ~ l s o , orrie-times c a l l e d " P e t e r ' s fire" a f t e r 13lessed P e t e rGonzalez 03 Portugal .I n t h e O l d Tes-Lament, Jacob i s reported t o have seer? a band of angelsascend ing to heaven upon a glowing lacider. A low voltage, h i g h c u r r e n te l e c t r i c a l arc between two a,hntnc,s.t p a r a l l e l w ir es gives a discharge whichi s ma g n e t i c a l l y blown along t h e w i r e s - lierice the ~iatllieJ W G ~ ' Sadder.

    -x-

    x 3.

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    The f a c t t h a i 62 obse r va t ions o f doughnut o r r in g c on f igu r a t ions a nd50 obse rva t ions of sur fac e type o f glow d i s t r i b u i i o n s w ere r e p o r t e d s u s -g - s t s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of a n e x c i t e d r i n g o r s u rf ac e . I t i s p o s s i b l e t h a tp s y c h o l o g i c a l f a c t o r s i nheren t i n 'die que st io n may have l e d observ ers 'LOmake siich r epor t s on the slow d i s t r i b u t i o n ("Was it, a swface , vo lume ,doughnut, o r r i n g t y p e o f g low?") .of t'nP b a l l ( s e e Ta b le VIlI) due t o i n t e r na l te rnpers ture v a r iac io i i s mayaccount for such a glow d i s t r i bu t i on . Aliho iigh no ques t io n w a s asked spe-c i f i c a l l y on the i n t e r n a l m o tio n of Liid l i g h t n i n g b a l l , 46 i n d i v i d u a l sr e p o r t e d a r o l l i n g , s p i n n i n g 9 or tumbling type o f motion suggest ing r o ~ a -t i o n a l p la sm a or'mass flow and t,h? poss ib i l iLy o f a n i n t p r n a l r i n g c u r r e n t .Many cases re po r t ed i n ilie l i t e r a t u r e a s cr i b e a r o t a t i o n a l p r o p e r ty to Lhe

    19b a l l . R b a l l l i g h t n i n g o b se r va t io n r e p o r t e d by L . B. Loeb LO Hwnphreysincluded ihe s ta temeniu, " I t nas been my impression i n thin kin g 01 i t t h a tt h e so-tal-led b a l l was i n t e r n a l l y i n r a pi d r o t a t i o n o f some s o r t o r t h e r ew a s a vortex which gave i t i t s shape".

    I t i s a l s o p o s s i b l e t h a i ! ~ i u l t i- c o lo r i ng

    'YABLF: I. QUESTIONlKAIRE ON "BALL LIGHTNING!'" B a 2 . l Lightning" has been consi dered by n mero u s c ap ab le s c i e n t i s t s

    as having obj ec t i ve r ea l- i t y and sev er a l physical . models have been proposed.to exp lai n th e phenomenon. I n view of i t s p o s s i b l e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n as as t a b le pl asma c o n f ig l xa t io n a nd he nc e im po r t a xe i n ihe the rmonuc lea r f ie ldthe f o l lowing que s t ionna i r e i s submit . ted. Please f i l l out ar id re turn t oth e Thermonuclear Exper imenta l Divisi on. Any ad di t i on al comments, r e fe r-ences , o r l i s t i n g of obse rve rs you make w i l l be apprec ia ted .1.2.3 .4.5.6.

    7.

    Have you ever seen " b a l l l ig h tn ing "? Yes N OrJoid i t o cc dr o n l y a f t e r a l i q h t n i n g f l a s h ? Y e s

    Approximatp?y how l o n g d i d i t p e r s i s t ?

    What sj,? or range o f s i z e s was t h e baIJ-? -

    __I___

    --m-..D i d i t decay slowly or suddenly?

    Was i i a sur face , V O ~ L ~ ,oughnut , o r r in gtype of' glow?3 i d t i e s i z e o f t h e b a l l ch an ge?(a) quick ly( b ) S r a dua l ly

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    8 .

    9.

    10.11.

    12114J .

    1.15.

    Did any unusual sounds acconqariy the pberionwm,or its disappearance? Yes NoDid i t cause m y unusual disturbance or 1.eav-ezny a f t ere " 'e ct ? Yes No(a,) o'bcjec s scorched?(b) o b j e c t s melted?( e > magnetic objects d i s tu r be d?(d) non-metall ic objects disturbed?(e) e l e c t r o s t a t , i c e f f e c t s ?(f) p~iotogra.pbie *i l .m (x-ray) effects?(8 ) act ivaSion e f f e c t s ?(h) sunbwn?(i) odo-r?(j) other?D i d you notice any p o i n t type discharges?

    NOeYes .No

    TVOesYes NOYes NOYes i.J0

    ~-l_ll -

    YSS NOYes NO

    Yes NODid it move randomly i.n space, follow conductors,remain in general co n t ac t w i . t h swfac?s , o r wasi t air-borne part of the t ime?What co l o r arid color changes were noted?Did yoii notice any heat or heatirig e f f e c t s ? %e N

    duri.ng or a f t e r the everi.t? Yes wczD i d you have ariy special v i s u a l effects

    Comments, sugges t ions , etc:

    Il'hermonuclear Exper irrental 1) vi ionBuilding 9201-2Room 335

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    -10 -

    TABLE 11. OBSERVATIONS ON CONDiYLONS ASSOCIATE0 WITH O R I G I N OF BALLLIGIITNTNG

    Unreported o r Uncer ta inFollowint: Lightning DischargeNoi Following T,ightnj.ng DischargeCJear Sky

    TOTAL

    TABLE 111. OBSEIIVATIONS ON P O I N T OF OKIlGrPJUnrepor ted o r Uncer ta inMe . t a l l i c S t r uc tu r e sE l e c t r i c a l L i n e sNon-mc t a l l i c S ruc- iui .esOccurred i n A i rTel-ephoiie Lines

    TOTAL

    TRHLE I V . OBSlCHVATIONS ON ENVlKONl4ENTAL CONDI'I'IONSUnrepor ted or Uncer ta inAir BorneAt tached t o ConductorsGeneral Contact with Non-ConductorsAi.r Borne P a r t i'ime

    TOTAI,

    'TABTIE V. OBSERVATIONS ON TYPE OY VIOTIONUnrepor ted o r Uncer ta inAlong ConductorsFloating, Bouncing, fiandom Motion'Tumbling, Spinning o r Rollfng No LionApproximate S tr a i gh t Line MotionS t a t i o n a r yAlong Sur faceJumped from Conductor i o Conductor

    TOTAL

    693'76653

    51.3

    3504247332621

    5I3_---

    5514411411189513-2571068463114

    77

    513-

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    TABLE VI. ESTIMATED S I Z E OF LLGI-IY'jyIN((: W L L S6731852

    Urirepor bed 01Uncer ta inLess Than One InchOne-Tho inchThree-Four IrlchFi-ve-Eigkt Inch 11 4Nine S xteeri Inch 12

    733 720

    Seventeen - L o Thir y-Two InchThirty-Three t o Si.xty-Fout* InchGrea te r Than Sixty-Fou-r Irich -

    TOTAL 515REPORTED GLOW D I S T R I B U T I O I ~ IDI LII;HmING BALLS.8LE VTI.

    79nreported o r Ur1certai.nIJniforrn or Volwile 313

    62ing o r Doughnut50u r f a c e9iscellaneous Shapes -

    TOTAL 513

    Unreported or [ Jncer ta in 202TAHLE VI11 HEPORTED COLO.R* OF LIC;I-1?'1\1PSr; M L L S

    liedGrangeYellowGreenBlueVi o l e tWhiteBlue-T&ieHed-OrangeYellow-lv3iteOrange-PellowMisce l laneousM i scellarieous

    TOTAL-x-Possible c o lo r - b l indne s 6

    583223526

    2222 723161457wo-Color Combiriatior LS

    Three-Color Combinations 2 8513-

    of s u -b j e c t s rlot known

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    -7-2 -

    TABLE IX.

    TABLE X .

    TABLX X I_.

    ES?'IYATED D U R A T I O N OF L I G h T N I N G FALLSUnreported o r U ncer ia inLess Than One SecondOne t o Tw o SzcondsThree t o Four SecondsF i v e t o E i g h t S ec on dsNine t o Six tee n SecondsSeventeen t o Thirty-Two SecondsTh i r ty - Three t o Six ty-Four SecondsSi xt y- Fi ve t o One Hundred l 'wpnty-Eight SecondsGreater 'Than One Hundred Twenty-Eight Seconds

    TOTALTYPE OF DECAY OF LIGHTNING HALLS

    Unreported o r Uncer ta ins1owlySuddenly

    TOTALREPORTEE VISUAL AFTlMKFFECTS

    Unrepor ted o r U n c e r t a i nAf te r Image, B lu r red Vis ion , e t c .N o E f f e c t s

    TOTAL

    683313313544432 316

    7

    10515

    92112309513-97110306513-

    TABLE X I I . SELECTED HUMAN TIVTEREST COMMENTS AN D SUGGESTIONS1 .2.3.4 . "Try 'Whiie 1 , ightn ing '" .5. "Try f l y i n g s a u c e r s " .6.7 .

    " P h y s i c i s t s a r e n o i or i o u s l y u n r e l i a b l e O bs Pr ve rs '' ." I have heard of t h i s phenomenon from a h i g h l y u n r e l i a b l e s o u r c e " ."Somebody mus t have be t t e r t h i ng s t o do wi th th e i r t ime" .

    "I don ' t l o o k at l i g h t n i n g " ."I couldn ' t swear t o any o f t he above mswers ,t u answer them".

    so 1 won ' t a t t empt

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    -13

    8 .9.

    LO.11.12.

    "I w i l l endeavor t o be more observant" ."My salary doesn't p a y fo r a. scient, il ' ie scope"."You are r e a l l y l ea v in g no stone unturncd"." I ' v e never sceii f l -y ing saucers eii,her"."A mail 1 once worked for many y e a r s ago d e s c r i b e d an orange b a l lo f f i r e he had. seen - . . . " . . The nlan wcs poor ly educa ted" ."L i g h t n i n g s t ru c k t r e e s e v e ra l h un dred f e e t away, b a l l f l a s h e dacross and i n t o open eud garage, fo l lowed w a l l at ground level.,probably faded as it l e f t ga rage w'nen I did".

    13.

    14 . "I ducked".E. "1.t w as pretty"1%.1.7. IfLet God l-iandle .this".

    "Don't want to see any morel'.

    TABLE x m . SELECTED comrmm ori HRL'L LIGHTNING HEPOHTSObservat ion N o . 2"(a) This iricid.ent happmed s e v e r a l years ago.the time was that l i g h t n i n g d i s c h arg e d t o o n e conductor of' a 154 KV brans-miss ion l i n e an d fol lowed i t t o a power substation 1.ess Uian 1-/4 x i l e away.Choke c o i l s and l i g h t n i n g a r r e s t o r s w i t h horn gaps s-t s u b s t a t i o n did n o tcheck t h e d i s c h a rg e t o any a p p r e c i a b l e e x t e n t ; however, ground c a b l e s fromarrestors were slightly burned. 'Die damage c o n s i s t e d of b ro k e n i n s u l a t o r s

    The opiniori of ' s e v e r a l at,

    arid melted copper conductors on low tension bus sild complete burnout of5 - 2000 IOJA trarisformers.(.b) S e v e r a l people saw t h i s i n c i d e n t . W e were all approximately 250 ft.from poin t a t substabion where extensive darnage wa:s done.

    of l a r g e spark gap w i t h great f ' rcquency.(d) The interval o f time of the davzge to siibstation was v e ry s h o r t a nddur ing t1ii.s brief interval the re were m n y d i s c h a rg e s i'rorn low te r i s ion busLo s t r u c t u r e , and from t ransfox-mer. case s t o s t , ru ctu re - all i n s n l a t o r s 011:Low t e n s i o n bus w%re s h a t t e r e d , as well as 7joth low t e r i s ion and hi,gh ten-s.i.0.n bushi.iig:s of a l l t h r e e ZOO0 FIJA t rans fo rmers .

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    ( e ) We w ere n e ve r a b l e t o t e l l i f t h e 'ball' or 'd ischarge ' of l i g h t n i -n g d i da l l t h e damage t o t h e s u b s t a t i o n , o r i f i t was t h e pr i mary c a u se i n s t a r t -i n g t h e ' s h o r t i n g ' b et we en lo w t e n s i o n b u s, s t r u c t u re an d t r a n s fo rme rc a s e s .[ f ) The mystery of t h e i n c i d e n t w a s t h a t t h i s ' b a l l ' or ' d i s c h a rg e ' p a s s e dth rough or over 154 KV o i l s w i t c h on t h e l i n e e n t e r i n g s irbs'c at i-on , a nd i twas n o t damaged i n t h e l e a s t . N e i t h e r d i d i t open, as would normally hap-p en i n c a s e o f a ' s u r g e ' .( g ) Th i s t h i n g w a s kicked around. f o r some time and many deb at es fol.lowed.I n ev er d i d l e a r n a n y t h in g tha t w a s d e f i n i t e l y e s t a b l i s h e d . or documented.(h ) One th in g d i d s tand ou t - t h e r e was t e r r i f i c h e a t from t h e ' b a l l ' or' d i s c h a rg e ' - t h e s u r f a c e o f t h e t ra n sm i -s si o n l i n e w a s d ee pl y p i t t e d ont o p - however the ma te r i a l s [po rce la in , s t e e l and. copper ) o f low te ns io nbus and i t s i n s u l a t o r s w i th s up po rt i- ng s t e e l s t r u c t u r e w er e i n p a r t com-p l e t e l y m e lt ed as i f from a c r u c i b l e - th i s same mel t ing occur red on topso f t r a n s fo rme r s c a s e s an d w i t h p o r t i o n s o f bo'ih LT and HT biishings."Observat ion No. 3"Th is was n o te d d u r in g a n i n t e n s e e l e c t r i c a l . stool*m.t e le p h o n e l i n e a nd t h e b a l l was discharged from the phone.be a sphere abou t 4 t o 6 inche s i .n d iameLer which ' f l o at ed ' by a s c r e e ndoor when i t disappeared . I w a s a c h i l d a t the t ime and w a s not i r i t e r e s t e di n d e t a i l e d o b s er v at i on b u t was mere ly f r igh tened . "Observat ion no. 8"Twice, o n d i f f e r e n t o c c a s i o n s , a tumble weed type of movement w a s seena l o n g a f e n ce , a l o n g r a i l r o a d t r a c k s . The se o b s e rv a t i o n s w ere made i nmid-afternoon just b e fo re a l o c a l tw is te r , no ra in , where we were. Seemedt o exp1od.e and vanish."Observation No. 1 0"The summer of 1927 I was working with a s t a t e h ighway su rvey ing par t y .One af te rn o o n we were havi ng am e l e c t r i c a l s t o r m . N o r a i n a t t h e t ime.One of t h e boys was ho ld ing a lev el. rod. ( a l e v e l rod i s wood-en, about 1 3 'long and on the bo t tom and top j . t h as a b r a s s c ap ) i n t h e c e n t e r o f a b l a c kt o p road. The l i g h t n i n g s eemed t o s t r i k e t h e t o p of t h e ro d , it appearedto be a b a l l , then sp inn ing i t l e f t r o d a nd s t ru c k ro a d a bo u t 5 0' away,r o l l e d dowii roa d abou-L 1 0 0 ' and d isappeared as t h o i t was exhausted ."

    L i g h t n i n g s t ru c k aI'Lappeared to

    -_._

    I ._I___

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    -15-

    Observa-t ion No. 12"The b a l l appeared on a 5500 vol t t r ansrn iss ior i l.i.ne a,p_uroxirnai;ely20 Tt.from a. pole .. i-nsulator whi.ch then e q l - ode d .Ob ervat, o n No. 16"R bo~ i .L1926, dur ing a surmier' .Lliunderstor.m cente red 1/2 Lo one ~ r i i l eway,I was watching f requent cloud.-to-ground l i g h t n i n g dischargeswhite b a l l 'float' t o the ground, follo-wing a ver t ica l . pa;th, To my recol.-ltectiori i t was not preceded or accomi>aiii.cziIby an o r d i n a r y 1igIitn:ing s t ro k e .I: e s t i - r a t e approximately one second from its tqqearance a t t'ne base of Ynecloud unt i l i . t disappeared behind a h i l l i n t o a -caninhabitmi swmp alid woodsarea . The ball d i d not change in size or appearance d u r i n g my- observ-atiori;its p a t h was somewhat wider than Ynat of a.n o r d i n a r y I.i.ghtnirrg s t ro k e .Some luminosity of -the t r a i l persisted for. a fraction of a second. behindth e ball. There were no u r r u s u s l soumis an d I have no information on a f t e reff'ec-Ls.Obser - ra t ion N o , 17"A-bout, 1939, & w i n g a local e l e c t r i c a l storm, I observed ij8.11 of firefol lowing the upper (grou~id)wire o f a Iiigti--tension L i n e it l i t t1.e ~ - e s st h a n a h a l f rni.2.e ;may. This ball was i i r i e d i a t e l y p re ce d.e d by a s t T 0 k . e oflightning which I presume h i ttwo or' t h r ee seconds; I ' m so r ry 1 d o n ' t rememuer i t s disappearance, b u t It h i n k it 'was sudden. The ball t ~ p p e s r e dto be one or two feet in diaraeter,was r e d d i s h i n c ol o r , d i d not sezm t o charige size, and was s p h e r i c a l i nshape. It followed the conductor as tho-ugh it were r o l l i n g on top of ' it.forperhaps 106 yards. I ca,nnot sa y w i t h csert,ainty wl-tet'ner i t was accmm-pariiecl .wi-th unusua l sourids os v i s u a l ef'fec'ts '121.e e l e c - t r t c a l transmissionl i n e ?$as krioclied out but I do riot h o w f o r su r e of any oth er d i .s turbancesor after e f f e c t s . I behieve t h a t some of our :neighbors a l so :saw t h i s phe-nomnon ) ''Observa-Lion No. 20"About 30 years ago 1 saw 8 ' i rey ball descead f'rorn t,he sky and s5rj.k.e 8fence of' barbed wlre a t t a c h e d t o wooden posts. Tne ball {;raveled a longthe t o p 03 t h e tog s t ra id of wire for S O I ~ niiintes9 t h en disappectreil. As t r a n g e rustling sound accornipanied. t h i s appear.arice. in. the beginning, t he

    The b a l l persisted arid s lox ly moved along th.e w i r e t o th e

    i saw a

    So far as I know, I w a s th e only obse rve r . "

    the high-.Lensi.on l i n e . The b a l l l a s t e d for

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    b a l l ap pe ar ed l a r g e r t h a n a t t he e nd . The s i z e o f t he b a l l I shou ld p l a c ea t l e s s t h an 4" and I d o n ' t b e l ie v e i t w a s much la rg er t han 18" i n diam -e t e r . I e xamined th e f e nc e w i t h in minu -t es a f t e r t h e b a l l h a d . disappearedand found th e tops of th e pos t s w a r m a nd ve r y s l i g h t ly s c o r che d . That i s ,on ly the I .oose po r t ion o f t he su r f a c e was scorched."Observation No. 2 3"Boimced three times, the n r o l l e d a bout 100 f t . down c e n t e r o f s t r e e t .Orangc f lame c o l o r was c ons t a n t . "Observation No. 42" B a l l seemed t o r o l l i n a forward d i r e c t i o n .t o r a t e o f r o t a t i o n. B a l l . also seemed t o p a r a l l e l g round a bout 30 f t .above i t . "Observation No. 45" Th is oc c u rr e d a f t e r a l i&tnr i.ng s t r i k e f rom a power pole.t o move down t h e p ole , a c r o s s a s t r e e t , o v e r a man and i n t o a wooded area.The ma,n was dazed, sunburned, bu t otherw ise unhur t . ' IObservation No. 46"'The above occu.rred once i n Iowa, l a t e r i n wes te rn Nebraska . Both involvedt h e o l d - ' c rank type ' count ry te lephone. During e lec tr ic a .1 s torms my fa th ertau gh t my seven br ot he rs and me t o always a i m t h e phone mouthpiece toward.the c e i l i n g t o mi-nimize the chances of our be ing s t r uck by a, quote ,' 1 -i gh t ni ng b a l l ' . A t t he t ime 1 w a s b o t h t o o f r i g h t e n e d an d t o o s r m l l t oobserve any s c i e n t i f i c asp ec ts of t he phenornenon, however , I rcca2. l see ingt h e r ed b a l l f l .ash f rom phone t o ce i - l ing s imi- la r to a Roman can dl e d i s -charg e, excep t of much shorter. du-ra t ion. IObservation No. 49"Da.te w a s l a t e summer 1939 o r 40, place P a l e s t i n e , I l l . 'There w a s a thun-de r s to rm i n p r og r e s s . I do il ot r e c a l l d e f i n i t e l y wh et he r i t was r a i n i n gbe f o r e the e ve n t , bu t 1 b e l i e v c i t h ad n o t y e t s t a r t e d r a i n i n g . L a t e r i trai ne d r a t h e r hard. My memory- i s ' tha t i t w a s simply 'working up t o i t 'with thunder and l ig ht ni ng . My l i t t l e s i s t e r had. gone i n t o a bedroom t ouse the phone when I heard h er cr y out and c a l l my name. I r a n i n t o t h eroom i n ti me t o see a. 'ball o f T i r e ' s e t t l i n g t o t he fl.oor much as an airf i l l e d ba l- loon wou ld. It, t r u c k t h e floor and rebounded s l igh - t l y , aga in ,about 1ik.e a ballooii. There was a r o t a r y mo t ion of t h e o b j e c t . i t r o l l e d .

    Vel.oci- ty seemed slow r e l a t i v e

    The hall. seemed

    _._I_-----

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    -17

    and bounced (damped bounce l i k e a l i g h t ball) a c r o s s {;he f l o o r t o t h e l e gof a n i ro n be d.sound, a l i t t l e vxpor o r smoke v i s i b l e , and th e thin53 was gone. I seemt o reca l.1 t h a t the w h i te en,%nel on t h e be d l e g was burned a l i k t l e , b u tn o t h i n g d r a m t i c .t h e f l o o r , t h a t i s , made a f l a t c o nt ac t spo t . The phorle s t o o d on a s t a n dn e ar t h e o t h e r end of th e bed, and I seem t o r e c a l l some malfv.nc-i;ion. oft h e ph on e, t h e p a r t i c u l a r s of which I f o r g e t .c a l l e d o u t when she s m t h e t h i n g d e sc en d in g r a p i d l y o u t s i d e the window,a nd t h a t i t crame down and through the steel w i re s c r e e n (I and. bounced onthe window s i l l .shape of depe ndin g t ot al -l y on my memory - I d i d not w r i t e a thing down a tthe t ime !Observatioii No. 57( a ) I have s een what Midwest fa rri er s refer t o as a ball f l i g h t n i n g o ntwo d i f f e r e n t o c c a s i o n s .h i g h rate of speed along a power l i ne . The b a l l had a v e ry d i s t i n c t b lu ec a s t , because of the viewing di-stance, T c o u l d n o t o b t a i n a good estimateof i t s s i z e . I t , however, appeared t o main tain a s t a b l e c o n f ig u r a ti o nd u r i n g t h e s h o r t t i me i n wh ich I viewed i t . I n each case a, severi? e l e c -t r i c a l s to rm w a s o c c u r i n g i n t h e i mmed ia te a r e a . The b a l l d i d not, l e a v eth e power l i n e on which I f i r s t observed i.t n o t w it h s ta n d i n g t h e f a c t t h a to t h er l i n e s were nearby.r a p i d l y . So f a x as I kno-w, no d.amage t o Yne l i n e r e s u l te d . ( b ) On a th i rd occ t t s ion I witnessed what m y have been a s i mp l e l i g h t n i n gstr.i.ke o r m-ay have been such a b a l l . I w a s working underncathn a, car w i t ha n e x t en s i on l i g h t hung nearby du r ing a s e ve r e e l e c t r i c a l s to rm . I heard

    There was

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    shiedde-i. but not melted . Where the an tenna en te red the room t h e windows i l l W ~ Soin loose. ,he ' b a l l ' appezred t o o r i g i a a i e 2t ilie window, f l o a tt o t h e c e n t e r o f the room v e q - r a p id ly , a nd j u s t go out. Kerosene lampsil; the room were cxiinguished aiid t h e r e was z s t rong odor or" ' b r imstone ' . "Observation 7170. 63I 1 I am enc los ing a sketch" of a phenomenon which T observed as a c h i l d ;altiiough perhaps it i s not ' 3 a l l L i g h t n i n g ' , t h e r e may be some r e l a t i o n -sh ip . Do with i t as you wish. 1 e g r e t I canno-'i g ive more dztai1.s. Iw a s perhaps 10 or 12 yea r s o l d a t t he t ime, ve r y in t e r e s t e d i n watch ingI . ightning. I o n l y remember t h i s because i t impressed me as being unusual(I) it. occurred duri-ng a ra the r - v io len t thunders torm; ( 2 ) t h e 'Fire B a 2 . l 'appeared as an ex.plosion, and was Snstantaneous; ( 3 ) t he c o lo r was t h e sa.rneas t h a t of t he spa r k ; ( 4 ) a loud c rash fo l lowed the d ischarge - perhaps 1s ec . l a t e r ; (5 ) 30 seconds or more La te r , as I was still gawking i n t h a td i r e c t i o n , t h e r e was a r e p e a t pe rf or ma nc e, a lmos t i de n t i c a l . t o t he f i r s t ;( 6 ) t o t h e b e s t o f my knowledge, I know of no c on du ct or i n t h a t a r e a t h a tcould have heen h i t . I know o f no damage t o anything. '!:'neb a r n was n o ts t r u c k . I r e c a l l no f u r t h e r o b s e r w t i o n , as 1 w a s d i s t r a c t e d at t h i s p o i ntby t h e maid, who W ~ Sow crouched i n a corner , p ray ing fe rvent ly!"Observation KO. 64"I w a s s t a nd ing o n shore o f c i r c u la r pond o f about 1 /4 mi l e r a d i u s .ning h i t c e n t e r o f pond, b a l l developad, t ravel-ed 10 o r 15 f t . above waterf o r approxima'iely 1-00 yd. , h i t water , bounced up w i t h a i r a ga in , h i t ahundred yard-s further on and suddenly disappeared w h i l e a g a i n in mid a i r .My age and tha.t o f s e v e r a l oi i ier wi tne s se s was approximately 1 4 years . "Observati-on N o . 69" B a l l s ee n r o l l i n g i f ' you will on e l .ec . t r ic l ine conductor in a i r for 3 -200 f t . spa,ns and exploded a t corner ."Observation No. 7 8"During a. storm, t h e oven door on t he s tove w a s h o c k e d open a n d t h e bal l .l i g h t n i n g r o l l e d o ut ."

    Light -

    -I"_-- -

    ~ - - - _ 1 .

    -...-._*Lightning sp ark shown term inat ing i n a f i r e b a l l ab ou t 1 0 t o 20 f t . a bo veam o l d b a r n which w a s l oc a t e d a bou t 1000 f t . from observer.

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    -19-

    Observation No. 8 6l'Occu.x'rerJ dur ing heaTjy thuridcrs.torm; a c c ompa n ie d l i gh tn ing s t r i ke justouixicle home ; e n te r e d th rough open door i n r o l l i r i g mot,ion arid proceededi!i 8 direct line toward s h e l l casing (4" d.ian ie te r s h e l l cas ing) . 1Observaiion N o . 111"Ked w i t h white tunibl- ing l i g h t i.nsidc. IObserva;Lion No. 113"A b o l t of ' lightning h i t it t r e e , splitting i t partway down.o f f Prom the t r e e , t r av e l i n g h o r k o n t s l l y i n a s t r a i g h t l i n e .about 20 ya r ds froxi t h e t r e e , seemed t o s p i n o r v ib ra te , and exgloded w i t ha bal ig. IObservation No. 1-29

    The ball c \meIt s topped

    I 1 -1 was 1.ook.ing o u t of :a window d.ur in.g a thunderstorm. 1;i.ghtning s t ruck al a r g e oak t r e e about c e n t e r and s p l i t off a l imb.n i n g continued down th e Lruzrk and. seemed t o roll away from tlrie %ret: on t h eground for a d i s t a n c e o f about 15 1x1 20 f t . becoming I-arger from st:art t ofinish.Obs erva tio n No. 169"I saw the b a l l l i g h i n i n g while feeding cat i ; le on a fizrm in middle Tennesseei n 1946. A b o l t of 1. ighta ing struck &II electric fence or c l o s e -to h ee l e c t r i c f en c e a bo u t 600 ft. from t he e nd of t h e fence where I Wi%S s t a nd ing .A f t e r t h e strike, 3 b:a.lls of f i r e s ho t i n ra:picl succe ssio n. f 'rom t h e en dof Lhe f en ce and traveled about 200 ft. i n th e a i r ( i n a si;rai.gbt I . ine)a n d 1 i i . t th e grouiid. 'Theonly no i se 1 heard was -the thunder arid 3 'bangs 'when t h e balls of fire l e f t the fence .ance where t h e balls h i t ; t he e a r th . I was unsble t o 1x11 where or what .thei n i t i a l b o l t of l i g h t n i n g had st:rilck.Observation No. 1.841 1 ,?he l i g h t n i n g s t r u c k a count:c*y te l ephone l i ne , t r a v e l e d a pp r ox imate ly l / 4

    I n o t i c e d kha t ihe light-

    I w a s approximately '15 t o 10 0 yards from a l l this."

    The pa s tu r e ha d a dehydrated appear-

    mile fol:Lowing Yle line to where it was disconnec ted a.t t h e hou.se, rol.l.edo f f the end of t he l i n e , h i t a pp roxi .r na te ly 1 2 ' out i n t o t h e y a rd and b u r s t e dI.ike a gi an t sp a rk le r . No-be: The pole a t t h e po in t whe re the l i n e w a sdisconnec ted w a s split arid t he in su la t o r bur s te d .. "

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    0bservat.Fon 80 . 466''1personal.:ly have obsci:r.ved t h i s type lightning o n l y once many years ago.It; as entirely air- .borae, resembled a Fourth of J u l y fire work and wasintercoririected by l i g h t n i n g flashes. The thunder was e ~ : p ~ i a l l . yi o l en t ,the i ' i i-st ball was blue, w?i.i.cti exploded i n t o sev-eral b lue bal-3-s whichtraveled raridonily arid decayed in flashes of red l i g h t . "Observation No. 487"'Iumbledacross f l o o r , like pinwheel, b a l l appeared to be revolving, khrewsome sparks. '

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    -23-

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    104- H. E. Seagren105. R. L . Sherman1-06. Y. Shjma107. E . D. S h ip le y1.08. J . E . Simpkins109. M. R . Skidmore110. M. J . Skinner111. A. H . S n e l l112. W . L. S t i r l i n g113. R. W . Scoughton114, R. F. S t ra t to i i , J r .115. R . A. Strehlow116. E . H . Tayl.or117. 8. A. Ullmaie r118. H. L. Watts119. A . M. Weinberg120. E . R . Wells121_. R. L. Wesley122. W . L. Wright123. A . J . Wyrick124. 0. C. Yonts125. Gale Young1.26. Owen EJ-dridge (consulixnt )127. 3 . W. Flowers (consu1.tan-t)128. D. C . Freeman (consultan- t)125. M . W . G a r r e t t ( c o n s u lt a n t )130. I I . G r a d . ( c onsu l t a n t )131. E . G. Har r i s ( c o n s u l t a n t )1-32. D. E . I I a r r t s o n ( c o n s u l t a n t )

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    Sandi.a Base , A lbuquerque , New Mexico215. F. W . Crawford, S tanford Elec t ro ni cs Labora tor ie s21-6. M. B. Gottl- ieb, Pr inceton Uni.veysi ty-217. D. W. Ke r s t , Un ive r s i ty olWisconsin218. A. C. Kolb, Naval Research Labora tory219. Morton A. Levine, A i r Force Cambridge Research Laboratories220. J. A. P h i l l i p s , Los Alamos Sc ie n t i f i c Labora tory221. R . F. Post UniversLty of California , Lawmnce Radia t i-on

    222. John R. Roth, N.ASR Lewis Research Center ( M a i l S top 301 - l ) ,223. R us se l l Shelt on, Chief , Nuclear and Plasma Phys ics Sranch,224. I,. D. Simll l ih , Massachuset ts I i is t j - tute of Tech.nology225. L. S p i t z e r , P r i n c e t o n U n i v e r s i t y226. A. W . Tr i ve lp i ece Unive rs ri .ty of Ca Efo rn i a , Berkeley , Cal.iforii ia227. J. A. Swartout, 270 Park Avenue, New York 17, New York

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    228 I C . M. Van A t t a , Univers i ty of CaLifornia, Lawrence Radiation229. P. A. Silberg, Raytheon Company, Wayland, Massachusetts230. E. L. H i l l , Phys ics Department, Un iv ers ity of Minnesota,231.. L. B. Loeb, Ph ysi cs Department, Univ ersj-ty of Cal i f o r n i a ,232. C. M. B r a a m s , F.O.M. I n s t i t w i t m o r Plasma-Fjrsica, RiJnhu'izen,233. D. Fin ke lns tei n, Yeshiva Un iver sity , 601W. 18'3rd St., New234. D . J . Ritchi.e, Bendix Corporatio n Research Labora torie s,235. W. D . Iiayle, BASA L e w i s Rese arch Ce nt er, Cleveland., Ohio236. A. Iwanovsky, Science and Technology Center, Lib rar y of237. E. M. Dewan, A.F. Cambridge Research Laboratories, Bedford,238. H . W. Lewis, Phy sics Department, U niv ers ity of Wiscon:;in,239. A. N. Zaide l , Physico-Technica l In s t i t u te , Leningrad K - 2 2 ,

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    240-241. Rese arch and Development Di vi sio n, mC, OR0 (1 copy each t o242-246. Controlled Diemonuclear Research Branch, AFC, Washington247-251. USAFC, Divis ion of Research, Controll.ed Tnermonuclear252-631. Given d i s t r i bu t ion as shown i n T I D - 4 5 0 0 under Pnysics category