Science Department Commentary
A special commission worked to analyze the emergency witnessed by V. Akkuratov. They tried to explain the unusual incident by a thunderstorm, which occasionally occurs in winter. But that day, according to the forecasts of the Central and all district synoptic bureaus, as well as according to the forecast and actual weather maps, no thunderstorms were detected. And the action of ball lightning was officially established. In the plane, it destroyed the radio operator's seat, disabled the long-wave transmitter and fuses of all communication equipment, melted the ebonite outlet of the exhaust antenna. How it got into the cabin and did not touch the people, almost touching them, remains a mystery.
More than 30 years have passed since then, science has advanced a lot, but despite the abundance of hypotheses about the nature of ball lightning, even today there is no exhaustive explanation for what was seen. True, now we can talk about the characteristic features of ball lightning, deduced from observations. From this position, the emergence of a fireball on the wing of an airplane and its mysterious penetration into the cockpit is an example of a classic innovation of this kind of object. Reports similar to the testimony of V. Akkuratov are known. More than once, ball lightning freely flowed through metal screens, closed windows and doors, seeping into isolated rooms, including inside flying airplanes.
But here's what's truly amazing: this incident occurred on a February day with a temperature of -14 ° C, in the complete absence of thunderstorms. Meanwhile, all the ball lightning observed in winter occurred during winter thunderstorms. Moreover, as in summer, the appearance of the uninvited guest was usually preceded by linear lightning and the ball appeared at the point of impact or at a short distance from it. And sometimes such a predecessor discharge was absent; a fireball was seen even in clear skies on clear summer days.
Cases when ball lightning freely hovering near people was completely safe and even seemed to avoid contact with them were noted repeatedly. Judging by the description of V. Akkuratov, it was freely hovering lightning that penetrated the plane. But the attached one behaves differently. It lingers on conductors or rolls along them, heats up and even melts metal. On the human body, it can cause severe burns.
Sometimes these are not two different types of lightning, but its different states. Very often, according to the available data, the second of them leads to an explosion with a deafening noise, and sometimes boiling and throwing out sparks. This happened when the ball got under the radio operator's chair.
The hovering lightning apparently resembles a corona discharge. For the attached one, a lower voltage is probably characteristic, but a strong current. In the tragic incident on Mount Trapezium, the first variety turned into the second. It was repeatedly seen how sometimes the fireball rises and falls several times to a small height, which, in combination with the horizontal movement, creates the impression of jumping. This was the case in the climbers' tent. Ball lightning also danced over the telephone cups in Mogocha.
Many outstanding scientists have tried to penetrate the secret of such phenomena. In 1955, Academician P. L. Kapitsa suggested that ball lightning could be formed by electromagnetic waves, like a plasma clot in natural conditions. He particularly considered its occurrence in closed spaces, in particular airplanes, but came to the conclusion that the theory of feeding by an electromagnetic wave could well explain this as well. The theory of the famous physicist is still being actively developed, but it also has “blank spots”. For example, the source of the radiation necessary for feeding is unknown, the processes leading to the explosion of ball lightning are unclear... So the mystery remains. It excites inquisitive minds, and attempts to unravel it do not cease. In subsequent issues of the journal, we will open a discussion on the nature of ball lightning.
Fragments of a photograph of the trajectories of pulsating luminous objects taken in the Bossea Grotto (Italy, 1977).