Ball lightning is an atmospheric phenomenon, the physical nature of which is still controversial. The term refers to reports of a luminous object which varies in size from golf ball to several meters in diameter. It is sometimes associated with
thunderstorms, but unlike
lightning flashes arcing between two points, which last a small fraction of a second, ball lightning reportedly lasts many seconds. There have been some reports of producing a similar phenomenon in the laboratory, but some question whether it is the same phenomenon.
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