Irving Langmuir's Ball Lightning Tube
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Description: Description of an old experiment to produce ball lightning in the laboratory.
I. Langmuir's Ball Lightning Tube Irving Langmuir's Ball Lightning Tube * * * This article from Wayne Strattman at MIT. The source is unknown, * * perhaps it's from Scientific American from the 1920's or 30's. The * * photos are unrecognizable, having gone through many generations * * of photocopying. I know of no modern attempts to replicate this * * device. * * -Bill Beaty 10/95 * * * [Update: Steve L thinks it's from the Gernsback magazine "The Experimenter" of Feb. 1925] BALL LIGHTNING MADE IN THE LABORATORY The history of modern physics is replete with experiments on gaseous conduction. The field seems especially rich in possibilities, chiefly perhaps because we are there concerned more directly with that fundamental factor in electrical phenomena- the electron. Gasses under atmospheric conditions have comparatively low densities; that is; their molecules are placed further apart than in solids or liquids, and the electrons have larger spaces over which to roam aimlessly or to fly rapidly, impelled by electromagnetic forces. In rarefied gases, the motions of the electrons are far more vigorous than in everyday conditions. Free for a moment from the influence of the atom, the electron will display unusual properties and give rise to phenomena whose beauty and novelty contribute much to the prevalent interests in electrical conduction through low pressure gases. Observe, for instance, the photograph in Fig. 1. That tenuous electrical discharge, so beautifully simple, is coupled with myriads of agile particles that move about, impatiently swaying now under the influence of electric, now under magnetic forces. This is no ordinary discharge through a vacuum, but one actuated by some, as yet unknown, forces. A moment before the picture was taken, the arc was stretched motionless through the tube, glowing with a quiet purplish red color. Then through a momentary interruption of current, the arc gains life and tears itself away from the tube with the writhing motion of a snake
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