A phenomenon very similar to, if not identical with, ball lightning has been reported to occur in submarines due to discharge of a current about 150,000 amp direct current from a 260-volt source across a circuit breaker(Silberg, 1962).
Ahem. MSimon, ladajo, other Navy nukes?
The odor is usually described as sharp and repugnant, resembling ozone, burning sulphur, or nitric oxide.
15N?
That is why the aforementioned Electrician's Mate Chief took a moment to teach young me back in the day about not running. They do happen on occasion.
We did not think of them as "Ball Lightening", we thought of them as "Arc Induced Plasma Balls" or the short version, "Fireballs", that are very hungry. Seen the remains of some gear internals as a result them. One in particular stays with me today, the hollowed out core of what had been a 500KW arc-chute.
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)
I was in Florida during an afternoon thunderstorm. Myself and a friend witnessed a lightning bolt strike the top of his parked car, and a ball lightning form. Right on the top of his old Ford Fairlane. I could not see both the lightning bolt and the ball lightning at the same time, but after the lightning strike, there sat the ball of lightning. It was stationary, then it seemed to roll to the back, down the back window onto the trunk lid, then a little faster off the back of the car onto the asphalt. It may have floated along, or slid along, I have no recollection of any evidence of rotation. When the ball hit the wet asphalt, it sank into the ground or deflated. It's shape distorted as it got smaller but it didn't wink out, or maybe it did once it was quite small. The ball was about 2 feet across, and maintained that size until it hit the ground. The last I actually remember seeing was a dome about the size and shape of half a basket ball on the asphalt.
The ball lightning took maybe 2 seconds to start moving, another two seconds to reach the drop down to the trunk and maybe one second to cross to the back of the car and maybe half second to drop from the trunk lid to the asphalt. It was like it was floating with only a minor effect from gravity, but it never lifted clear of the surface it was on.
The ball lightning was initially bright yellow around the surface, light blue to deep blue toward the center. (I note that the car was painted yellow, some sort of reflection?) But as the ball lightning moved, the bright yellow color faded slowly to orange, then a deep orange (redish) as it sank into the ground.
We checked the car after and there was no indication of burning or any evidence we could find that the ball lightning had ever been there.
Note that my time estimates may not be very accurate because it is human nature that time seems to slow when something totally unexpected or unusual happens. However, this was one of those memorable events that sticks in my mind.
