From: richard.herring@baesystems.com
Subject: Re: Ball Lightning Page Updated
Organization: BAE SYSTEMS
Newsgroups: sci.physics.plasma
References: <ac2mb8$alic$1@saturn.cs.uml.edu> <acd7h9$286r$1@saturn.cs.uml.edu>


In message <acd7h9$286r$1@saturn.cs.uml.edu>, Scott G B9078929
<scottgb9078929@cs.com> writes
>
>Richard:

[it would help if you were to quote some context for what you're
replying to]
>
>At this point, I do not have any data to put into Maxwell's or anyone else's
>equations.

I'm not asking for data. I'm asking you to combine Maxwell's equations
and any other relevant ones from physics, to produce a model which will
*predict* what happens to a ball of plasma.

> And I do not regard my hypothesis as making "claims."

It's the same thing.

>I put my
>hypothesis forward for the purposes of general discussion. It might help you
>to understand my hypothesis if you consider the aerodynamic properties of golf
>balls.
>
No, it would help me to understand if you presented a mathematical model
that makes some quantitative predictions. "It is reasonable to suppose"
doesn't qualify.

>Golf clubs impart backspin to golf balls. A spinning golf ball generates
>vortexes at its poles. If a golf ball is not struck squarely then its rotation
>axis will not be perpendicular to the direction of its flight and the ball's
>polar vortexes will then cause the ball to veer to the left or right (into a
>lake, sand tap, or other trouble).

Whatever the vortex on the left does, so, equal and opposite, will its
mirror image on the right. Lift due to the Magnus effect is not
attributed to the vortices, but to the circulation around the ball.
http://hepweb.rl.ac.uk/ppUK/PhysFAQ/golf.html, among other sites.
http://landau1.phys.virginia.edu/classes/311/notes/aero/node2.html

[...]

>I believe that it is reasonable to suppose that if ball lightning spins then it
>too will generate polar vortexes. The polar vortexes on a lightning ball are a
>more complicated problem if the ball is composed of hot plasma. Since a
>lightning ball can instantly vaporize window glass, the ball's surface
>temperature is probably at least 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. If so, then the air
>that is being spun off of the ball is going to be heated to some extent. And
>if the air is being heated to the point of becoming ionized

How about estimating what temperature *that* would require?

>then the motion of the air will be affected by the magnetic fields that
>are holding the lightning ball together. I do not know whether those
>magnetic fields will compress the vortex into a tighter bundle or cause
>it to disperse more readily.

Then I recommend that you study some magnetohydrodynamics.

> If the
>magnetic fields compress the vortex then the vortex will be more likely to form
>a pedestal that keeps the ball off of the ground.

That's a lot of "if"s. You need to substantiate some of those prior
assumptions.

--
Richard Herring