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Does the 2012 Qinghai recording show a ball of burning soil vapour?

Asked 26 Oct 2026 by ·Part of What forms and powers ball lightning?·3 answers·0·0 following
Most likely: yes; it was a ball of vaporised soil elements sustained after the strokeAhead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

Where it stands

Three answers have been proposed. Yes; it was a ball of vaporised soil elements sustained after the stroke. leads, with evidence 3 for: supported by its tests. Two are still possible.

Why it matters

It is the only instrumental record and the strongest evidence for the silicon model⁠[1]; its interpretation carries the field⁠[2].

Answers 3

Evidence: 3 for
Most likely
Evidence: 2 for
Still possible
None of these.
Not tested enough to call either way
Evidence: none yet
Still possible

History

  1. Cen et al. puts forward: yes; it was a ball of vaporised soil elements sustained after the stroke.
  2. Ball puts forward: it was a related but different phenomenon, such as a long-lived luminous ground-strike remnant, not…
  3. Cen et al.: soil lines are present for the entire lifetime.For: Yes; it was a ball of vaporised soil elements sustained after the stroke.
  4. Ball: martin Uman called it probably ball lightning, or one type of ball lightning.For: It was a related but different phenomenon, such as a long-lived luminous ground-strike remnant, not…
  5. Wang et al.: optical power of about 4 kW for most of its life.For: Yes; it was a ball of vaporised soil elements sustained after the stroke.
  6. An et al.: si I and Fe I temperatures of about 4,300–4,600 K, below the oxygen-line temperature of about 8,750 K.For: Yes; it was a ball of vaporised soil elements sustained after the stroke.
  7. Asked on this site
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