Transient Electron Compression — Glowing Ball Lightning Theory

Transient Electron Compression — Glowing Ball Lightning Theory | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Transient Electron Compression — Glowing Ball Lightning Theory Ruibo Li This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8228185/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Ball lightning is a rare atmospheric phenomenon whose formation mechanism has remained unresolved. This work proposes a plasma-combustion luminescence model to account for the observed features: locally compressed free electrons generate a luminous plasma that heats and ignites nearby dust particles. Owing to the higher efficiency of radiative and conductive cooling at the combustion boundary, the local burning rate decreases sharply. Any protruding region cools and extinguishes more rapidly than the rest of the volume, thereby causing the luminous region to spontaneously evolve into a spherical shape. Quantitative calculations demonstrate the theoretical feasibility of the proposed mechanism and successfully resolve several observational paradoxes that previous models have failed to explain. Beyond resolving long-standing observational contradictions, this study may rekindle interest in fundamental plasma physics and deepen both the scientific community’s and the public’s understanding of this rare and captivating atmospheric phenomenon. Physical sciences/Astronomy and planetary science Physical sciences/Physics Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files parameterstable.csv Supplementary.py radiatedpower.csv plasmaparameters.csv debyelengthplot.png uncertaintyscan.csv betaplot.png README.txt SIpdf1.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8228185","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":555097727,"identity":"e001140c-36b3-49a4-9564-fd622a0f5e08","order_by":0,"name":"Ruibo 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