Ball Lightning and Plasma Cohesion

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dc.creatorGilman, John
dc.date2003-02-19
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T05:48:49Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T05:48:49Z
dc.descriptionThe phenomenon of ball lightning has been observed for a long time, but the nature of these luminous balls has been unknown. It is proposed here that they consist of highy excited Rydberg atoms with large polarizabilities that bind them together. Thus the cohesion of the balls comes from photon exchange forces (London dispersion forces) rather than the more usual electron exchange (chemical) forces. The cohesion in plasmas generated at the back faces of detonating explosives has a similar basis. Estimates are given to justify this interpretation.
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0302063
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0302063
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/85166
dc.subjectPlasma Physics
dc.subjectChemical Physics
dc.titleBall Lightning and Plasma Cohesion
dc.typetext

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