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The Ball Lightning Controversy: Empirical Case Studies

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Forces of Nature and Cultural Responses

Abstract

The term Ball Lightning (BL) has been used since Arago (1837) for an unexplained class of metastable luminous phenomena in atmospheric electricity. BL seemingly appears at random in time and space, and lasts only for seconds, vanishing with or without traces. BL causes epistemological problems in case classification, analysis of residue, and laboratory simulation. After about 400 years of BL report history and over 150 years of scientific efforts, most of the incoming material is still anecdotal, and theoretical discussions still outnumber critically assessed field investigations. BL also has a psychological level with different mental models, lay theories, and working paradigms creating a difficult pattern for witnesses, scientists, the media, and the public. The author – meteorologist and psychologist, involved in BL case studies since 1974 – explains the near-forensic examination of witness reports and alleged evidence (including an Austrian photograph and a German video), highlights European and international BL case statistics, and outlines obstacles and chances for a potential scientific solution to this long-time controversy.

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Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank numerous observers and researchers for providing data on this spurious phenomenon. Anton Puehringer, Axel Wittmann and Karl-Heinz Hentschel did pioneer work in Austria and Germany. Austrian cases were investigated with the help of Michael Karrer and Oliver Stummer. The friendly cooperation of Gerhard Diendorfer, ALDIS/EUCLID, Michael Staudinger and Otto Svabik, ZAMG Central Institute of Meteorology and Geodynamics, Vienna, and Alois M. Holzer of ESSL is appreciated. International contacts with Boris M. Smirnov and Vladimir Bychkov, Russia, Yoshi-Hiko Ohtsuki, Japan, the late Stanley Singer and Karl D. Stephan, USA, Gerard Berger, France, and Robert K. Doe, Great Britain, helped to set our European data into the right perspective. The book project of Katrin and Niki Pfeifer stimulated further reflections on the state of the art. Valuable reviews came from Mark Stenhoff, Jonathan Webb, Vladimir Bychkov, Robert Doe and Peter van Doorn.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

    Alexander G. Keul

  2. Department of Spatial Development, Infrastructure and Environmental Planning, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria

    Alexander G. Keul

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  1. Alexander G. Keul
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Correspondence to Alexander G. Keul .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of History, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, 5020, Austria

    Katrin Pfeifer

  2. Center for Mathematical Philosophy, Ludwig Maxmilian University, Munich, 80539, Germany

    Niki Pfeifer

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Keul, A.G. (2013). The Ball Lightning Controversy: Empirical Case Studies. In: Pfeifer, K., Pfeifer, N. (eds) Forces of Nature and Cultural Responses. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5000-5_3

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