Body
From: Homemade Lightning Creative Experiments in Electricity, R.A. Ford
The electrical entitiespages 173 – 178
A LABORATORY ILLUSTRATION OF BALL LIGHTNING
In Dr. Elihu Thompson’s Address at the opening of the Palmer Physical
Laboratory at Princeton University he made , with regard to ball
lightning, the statement, “The difficulty here is that it is too
accidental and rare for consistent study, and we have not asyet any
laboratory phenomenon which resemble it closely”. This suggested to me
that a phenomenon which I witnessed some six or seven years ago might be
worth recording.
With a copper wire a student accidentally short-circuited the terminals
of an ordinary 110 volt circuit. I happened at the time to be a few
meters from him and to looking toward the terminals. At the instant of
the short circuit I saw an incandescent ball which appeared to roll
slowly from the terminals across the laboratory table and then
disappeared.As I remember it, I should say that the ball may have
appeared to be about three centimeters in diameter. I think no one else
in the room saw anything more than a flash of light-much as if a fuse
had blown. On the table where the ball had rolled we found a line of
scorched spots, as if the ball had bounced along the table and had
scorched the wood wherever it touched.As I remember them, these scorched
spots were rather close together, perhaps not more than one or two
centimeters apart.In the top of the table was a crack perhaps a
millimeter or two wide, and at this crack the scorched line ended. In
the drawer immediately under this crack we found a tiny copper ball,
perhaps a millimeter in diameter. Apparently the ball that rolled across
the table was incandescent copper vapor, although my memory of it is of
a yellow-white than of a greenish light.
The above suggested the possibility of a laboratory study of a
phenomenon which may very possibly be similar to that of ball lightning,
but have never attempted to repeat the experiment.
A.T. Jones
Purdue University
18-8A laboratory illustration of ball lightning.Science, B.S. 1910
EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM MR. ARDEN, LECTURER, IN NATURAL PHILOSOPHY,
DATED SEPTEMBER 25, 1772
“About fourteen or fifteen years ago, in the presence of Wm. Constable,
Esq. at his seat at Burton, in Holderness, I made the following experiments:
“I placed a large coated jar that would hold three or four gallons,
directly under the prime Conductor of a very good electrical machine.
The prime Conductor was at least eight or ten inches above the top of
the jar, and the communication was made by a brass wire, bent at one end
over the prime Conductor, and the other end passed through small glass
tube (contrived by Mr. Constable to prevent the electric matter from
easily flying off) was suspended in the middle of the jar, and had a
small piece of brass chain fastened to it, that rested on the bottom of
the jar.
“I then began to turn the wheel, and about 100 or 150 times, as low in
the jar as I could for the coating, I perceived a ball of fire, much
resembling a red hot iron bullet, and three quarters of an inch in
diameter, turning round upon its axis, and ascending up the glass tube
that contained the brass wire, which was the Conductor to the inside of
the jar.
“I immediately asked Mr. Constable, if he saw the ball of fire? He said,
certainly.I said, ‘I will turn on’. He answered, ‘By all means’.I kept
turning the wheel, and the ball of fire continued turning on its axis,
and ascending up the glass tube till it got quite upon the top of the
prime Conductor.There it turned upon its axis for some time, then
gradually descended, turning upon its axis as it had done on its assent,
and so continued till it was so much below the top of the coating that
we couldno longer see it. But soon
18-9 The Arden and Constable experiment, De L’ Electricite’ Des
Meteores, Vol. 1, 1787, Abbe Bertholon
Insert photo #1
After this, a very great flash was seen; a large explosion was heard,
and strong smell of Sulphur was present all over the room; a round
aperture was cut through the side of the jar, as fine as if it were cut
with a diamond, rather more than three quarters of an inch in diameter,
and between two to three inches below the top of the coating, and the
coating was torn off all round the aperture, about three to four inches
in diameter. The jar was a pretty strong one, of crown glass.
Insert photo #2
“I then took another jar, so like the first, that when both were whole I
could not perceive any difference between them.I then attempted to
charge this, in the same manner as the other, and we both observed it
accurately. No ball of fire was seen, but presently the jar discharged
itself with a great flash and explosion, and at about the same part as
the first jar, but instead of an aperture which was made in the first
jar, there was a circle about three quarters of an inch in diameter, as
white as chalk, and the coating torn off round about it as before.Upon
touching the white part, it dropped out and appeared to be glass in fine
powder.
“We broke several other different sized jars that day, (which made Mr.
Constable say we were in great luck) but without any thing remarkable.
“The first experiment was made soon in the afternoon of a clear day, and
the machine stood directly between us and a window, which was not above
a yard from it.I don’t hear that the ball of fire has been produced by
art by anyone else, to this day, although it is produced by nature.
“I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Constable this day, and of reading the
account of these experiments to him, and, to the best of his memory, he
thought the whole was strictly true.
“Mr. Constable thinks it would not be difficult to repeat the
experiment, and to produce the ball of fire at any time, provided the
jar is large, and not coated too near the top, and that the wire
communicating the prime Conductor to the inside of the jar is made to
pass through a small glass tube (which is certainly of great advantage
of making experiments of this kind) and that the machine acts very
strong. If not, it will be in vain to attempt it’.
R.A. Ford
I can only conclude that Mr. Constable was a man of few words!
Several key points are worth noting in Arden and Constable’s
experiment:the Leyden jar’s central wire has several points of lose
contact including the chain links and sliding joint.The jar is large and
and is charged slowly, almost to the flash over point.The open jar, the
overhead window, and the fact that the visible fireball was formed early
in the test, but not later, indicates that a film of moisture in the
glass jar and the central glass tube is the most important requirements.
In In the historical evolution of the Leyden jar, the early form
included no lid. Natural philosophers soon discovered that by blowing
into the jar, the moisture would greatly increase the storable charge.
Many theories have been advanced to account for the large amounts of
energy and long lifetimes of these electric entities (usually 1 to 5
seconds).Fireballs have been known to cause major damage to tile roofs
and chimneys, bend heavy iron gates and door hinges, bring a barrel of
water to its boiling point in a short time, and bore small holes through
granite blocks.Some of these points are described in Brand’s report of
1923.An especially good book on the subject is Ball Lightning and Bead
Lightning by James D. Barry (1980). None of the theories mentioned in
these two sources require a major shift in fundamental physics concepts.
Theoretical implications
I personally feel these explanations do not account for the enormous
energy content in a small space.The three artificial electric-entity
productions featured here involve no large power requirement to initiate
a formation.
Following are two unorthodox theories, seldom seen:
1.In line with Gustave Le Bon’s ideas on the universal dissociation of
matter, a fireball would be seen as a slow energy-conversion process, in
which elemental matter (water molecules, for example) yields its
intrinsic potential energy. When the quantity of moisture is reduced to
a low level, the fireball becomes starved out of existence. Le Bon
pointed out the large number of electrons bound in a single gram of
water.Should these electrons be freed to appear as charge, an enormous
96,000 coulombs of electricity would be produced.One coulomb applied to
each of two spheres 1 meter apart represents an electrostatic force of 2
billion pounds!Normally, only tiny fraction of a coulomb is found in nature.
2.The second view involves a return to our discussion of gravitation. In
this theory, an energy conversion occurs that disturbs the “concealed or
hidden” motions in space (hypothesized by Heinrich Hertz in 1899 to
account for the storage of potential energy).
Also, odd gravity anomalies are associated with electric entities,
specifically, heavy, fragile objects fall without being broken.This
action implies that the basic properties or constants od space itself
have been altered.Since the true nature of electrification is concealed
a the molecular level, perhaps electrification produces disturbances in
the incessant, hidden motions of space.These disturbancesare manifested
as heat, light and mass motion-one form of which is the appearance of
ball lightning.
These two views, of course, are quite unsettling because they require a
major paradigm shift in fundamental physics concepts and an enlargement
of our scientific foundational principles.Some physicist have admitted
that the formation of ball lightning in metal enclosures, such as
airplanes, raises the question of how such large energy densities in a
small space are maintained (see Nature, volume 224, 1969, p, 895 , for
example).The metal enclosures ensure that fireballs are not supplied
externally with electromagnetic energy, as some theoretical physicists
have imagined.We have, in ball lightning, a means by which energy is
extracted from the nearby quiescent environment and manifests itself as
heat, light and mass motion.If this conclusion is justified, then it
would be a natural case of negative entropy; that is , energy flowing
“uphill”, not downhill, as is required by the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
One article in favor of this limitation is “The Second Law of
Thermodynamics and the ‘Death’ of Energy, with Notes on the
Thermodynamics of the Atmosphere,” by Charles P. Steinmetz from General
Electric Review (July1912).
Expressing the second law of thermodynamics in the words: “With out
expenditure of other form of energy heat flows only from higher to lower
temperature,” the author shows that the logical sequence from this is
the conclusion that eventually all energy transformation will stop,
i.e., all motion will cease and the universe will be dead.The conclusion
is not a reasonable one and the author sets out to disprove the general
applicability of the law.Adopting as his line of reasoning the
thermodynamics of gases, he shows how, attending the escape of molecules
from the attraction of earth into the cosmic space, there is a heat
energy flow from a temperature of 10 deg. C, to one of 60,000 deg.
C.Even within the earth’s atmosphere, and without considering what
happens in cosmic space, he shows that there is a transferenceof heat
energy from lower to higher temperatures, and leads us to the conclusion
that this law of thermodynamics is not of universal application, but
applies only within the limited range of thermodynamic engines, from
which it has been derived.
In addition to Dr. Steinmetz, physicists James Clerk Maxwell, Thomas
Preston, and Lucien Poincare held a similar view of the Second Law of
Thermodynamics.
A thought-provoking implication presented itself when I reflected on
Arden and Constable’s simple experiment, performed during the latter
part of the eighteenth century. With their homemade frictional generator
and Leyden jar, they succeeded in producing a phenomenon that today’s
government research centers have failed to duplicate using the best
high-powered generators and large financial investments.
Extrapolating from this paradox, it now appears that it is possible to
produce quite anomalous results by employing a large number of
principles through which nature operates.The experimental lab should
duplicate natural environmental conditions; sterility and uniformity are
often barriers to the discovery of new laws.
The application of this philosophical approach could result in a great
simplification of our technology, making it more reliable with less
waste and pollution as by-products.These possibilities require a greater
resiliency and willingness to think in different modes.Fortunately, the
spirt of inquiry and creativity is innate in each new generation of
children.
R.A. Ford
At the “New Energy Conference”, 1995Fusion Facts, Hal Fox sponsored,
Radisson Hotel, Denver CO.I had the opportunity to discuss, during
breakfast, the above “Dissociation of matter” with Hal Puthoff and
Kenneth Shoulders. My question was: “If you were able to “annihilate” a
quantity of water yielding an enormous electron output, what would
happen to the ‘protons”???Hal Puthoff did not even think twice and said
“They would “snap” back into the space background, just as I presented
in ZPE doc, Nature. “Spontaneous formation of hydrogen in free space”!
Ball Lightning was a big area of research by Ken Shoulders (RIP) and was
a centerpiece of his Charged Cluster Research.
http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue61/chargeclusters.html
http://www.padrak.com/ine/NEN_5_2_8.html
http://padrak.com/ine/FB97_1.html
On 4/23/2018 5:40 AM, 'S.friedrich' [email protected] [EVGRAY] wrote:
>
> Hello Warren, I have Unfortunately, just a DC Motor 1.3 kw
> performance, everything else are toys engines or Universal engines the
> not magnets have. I have now 4 of the 3,15kv capacitors ordered. I
> think if we free energy search then in the high voltage or in the
> electric field. it's here very still has become prepare all at the end
> time zenario before? greetings Sven
>
> Von Samsung Mobile gesendet
>
>
> -------- Ursprüngliche Nachricht --------
> Von: "Warren Keillor [email protected] [EVGRAY]"
> Datum:22.04.2018 20:51 (GMT+01:00)
> An: [email protected]
> Betreff: Re: [EVGRAY] Capacitor and how to reach the capacity.
>
> Sven
>
> The capacitor experimenting is very interesting indeed.
> You know, I ws making capacitors a while back, and found it
> ridiculously easy to make very good capacitors from cheap common
> materials.
> How about polyethylene sheet plastic and aluminium foil? How cheap can
> you get, along with spray adhesive, hot glue and some scraps of
> aluminium wire for tig welding. Oh! I forgot, empty toilet paper core
> tubes hahaha. They work great, even for 10,000 volts without flash
> over. They are not tiny little packages by any means, but you can make
> them any value you want to, just more surface area, and a bigger or
> smaller roll.
> I have news regarding my daisey chain bridge rectifiers and big dc motors.
> I have been running the 1.5 hp dc motor that is currently driving the
> 100 lb flywheel because I am too lazy to take it apart. It is also
> driving a little 40 volt fractional horsepower dc motor with a vee
> belt none of which is directly part of the experiment, except possibly
> as a load. I am running it using a variac and bridge rectifier at
> about 11.2 volts.
> Just inserting another bridge rectifier ac
> Now I am working these big motors way below their rated hlegs down
> between the two brush wires of the 1.5 hp 90 volt motor( running on
> 11.2 volts) yields 12.4 volts dc !
> Interesting! However, I noticed a slight jump in the line amperage
> required of half an amp using a little automotive 12 dc motor. When
> taking that connection to a big 1.5 horsepower dc gearhead motor with
> a 10:1 heavy gearbox, there was zero rise in amperage, as opposed to
> the little automotive motor.l am running these big motors way below
> their standard voltage.
> I have noted the voltage increase, and now the zero feedback to the
> source amperage.
> If you have any largish dc motors, give it a try, as I think you have
> everything in your test room.
> It is not fancy, or in anyway difficult to do.
> I have yet to flip the ac leads back and forth to see if it makes a
> difference in performance regarding the second motor, and system
> amperage draw.
> Cheers Warren
>
> Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
> <https://go.onelink.me/107872968?pid=InProduct&c=Global_Internal_YGrowth_AndroidEmailSig__AndroidUsers&af_wl=ym&af_sub1=Internal&af_sub2=Global_YGrowth&af_sub3=EmailSignature>
>
> On Sun, Apr 22, 2018 at 1:58 PM, [email protected] [EVGRAY]
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I found something interesting and wonder if this is relevant.
>
> Capacitor Capacitance is reached by the size of the plates, that
> will be clear to everyone here, but the distance of the plates
> also has a strong influence on it I would not have thought now.
>
> In tests the distance between the plates is increased and the
> voltage increases and vice versa the capacity. I had not thought
> of that.
>
> I always wonder if it's because of the capacitors we get today
> which are much more compact and smaller than before, maybe the
> dielectric is so thin that the gaps between the plates are so
> small that the new capacitors do not produce the same effect as
> the old ones , The old capacitors certainly had much larger plates
> than the new ones at a greater distance to achieve the same
> capacity. I may be on the wrong track, but I think you can think
> about it.
>
> I was able to get 4x 10μF capacitors from old production and
> withstand the 3.15kv and in relation to the other capacitors I
> have huge.
>
> I want the transverter with max. Drive impedance and make the
> connection via small coupling capacitors to the diode plug.
> Perhaps one could tap the earth into the resonance system via a
> diode. I wanted to protect the diode connector with several
> suppressor diodes in series to short-circuit if more like 1200V
> are transmitted.
>
> I always have to think about my high-voltage test where the ground
> connection could trigger the spark gap faster. Unfortunately, I
> could not measure any voltage or no devices that can stand it.
>
> regards
>
> Sven
>
>
>