Physicists generate ball-lightning in the lab

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A ball-lightning-like plasma cloud is produced in an underwater discharge. (Photo: D. Lange IPP)
A ball-lightning-like plasma cloud is produced in an underwater discharge. (Photo: D. Lange, IPP)

Scientists in the joint study group of Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik and Berlin’s Humboldt University have generated ball-lightning in the laboratory - or, to be more precise, ball-lightning-like plasma clouds. The physicists produce luminous plasma balls above a water surface which have lifetimes of almost half a second and diameters of 10 to 20 centimetres.


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