Ball lightning - the forgotten menace

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Icarusintel

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Why is no one worried about this!? The danger is real people, and it's scary as shit.

One of the earliest and most destructive occurrences was reported to have taken place during The Great Thunderstorm at Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Devon, in England, on October 21, 1638. Four people died and around 60 were injured when, during a severe dark storm that had already made it impossible to see or read during service inside the church, an 8' ball of fire struck and entered the church, nearly destroying it. Large wall stones were hurled far and buried. One person had the back of his head burnt off without any face damage, several people had their skulls opened, a clump of hair was flung and embedded into a piece of wood, many had their skin burnt, some lost their memories temporarily. Other people sitting next to burnt people were entirely unhurt. Some people had only their underclothes burnt, some only their overclothes. The ball of fire smashed the pews and many windows, and filled the church with a foul sulphurous pitch odor and dark thick smoke lasting ~ 1/2 hour. The ball of fire split into two, one smashing another window and wall on its way out, the other disappearing inside the church. The explanation at the time, because of the fire and sulphur smell and smoke and tar, was that the ball of fire was the devil or the actual flames of hell. About 1000 witnesses confirmed that incident and related neighboring lightning strikes and large hail. [4][5]

Another report, from 1753, depicts ball lightning as having violence. Professor Georg Richmann, of Saint Petersburg, Russia created a kite flying apparatus similar to that built by Benjamin Franklin a year earlier. He was attending a meeting of the Academy of Sciences, when he heard thunder. The Professor ran home with his engraver to capture the event for posterity. While the experiment was underway, ball lightning appeared, collided with Richmann's forehead and killed him, leaving a red spot. His shoes were blown open, parts of his clothes singed, the engraver knocked out; the doorframe of the room was split, and the door itself torn off its hinges.[6][7]
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Can we really continue to ignore this threat? Remote-controlled bombs are nothing compared to a ball of pure energy that floats around as it wishes killing and injuring people!

Fatal%20ball%20lightning.jpg

- Where is your God now?
 
This is the most awesome weather ever. EVER. I wish to create it from my fingertips.
 
"One person had the back of his head burnt off without any face damage, several people had their skulls opened, a clump of hair was flung and embedded into a piece of wood, many had their skin burnt, some lost their memories temporarily."
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sounds like one hell of a party
 
New fad, lightning ball raves.

Anyone reminded of Combine orbs by that picture?
 
Number one threat to America is BEARS.
 
LOL I saw ball lightning once during a wicked rainstorm. At least I think it was ball lighting. I was driving down the highway and to my right saw a bright ball with sparks coming off of it fall to the ground. At first I thought a transformer on an electrical pole had exploded but then lightning flashed in that area and I saw it was an empty farmers field with not structures anywhere in sight. /cue scary music
 
I wholly endorse this product and/or event.
 
Holy Lol. Where is your ballz now?
God After Firing that epic ball, dukenukem style: I've got ballz of fire..

My science teacher supposed experienced this too once back when she was a kid. The ball just blasted through the window during a lessons and just blasted out of another window
 
My friends brother wrote his dissertation on ball lightning

He works in the military now and has worked at area 51 as a scientist... D:
 
sea said:
Forgotten? FORGOTTEN?! How do you think I could forget?!
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Because it wiped out a chunk of your memory as it went past. So we all just assumed you'd forgotten why you couldn't remember any of us.
 
Really? I missed that bit.

The balls are not supposed to get in!
 
How the hell does fire turn into plasma.. Please explain. Don't tell me the freaking co2 released by the flame turned into plasma. Only Inert Gases can turn into plamsa, along with Hydrogen. Wierd as hell...
 
Phobie said:
Really? I missed that bit.

The balls are not supposed to get in!
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Proper insertion gurantees the balls CAN in fact get in, but this would require intense stretching of the tes-

Oh wait wrong thread. :eek:
 
soulslicer said:
How the hell does fire turn into plasma.. Please explain. Don't tell me the freaking co2 released by the flame turned into plasma. Only Inert Gases can turn into plamsa, along with Hydrogen. Wierd as hell...
Click to expand...

Fire IS plasma.

Well, more precisely flames contain plasma so that may explain something.
 
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