Society for Science & the Public, which publishes Science News, uses cookies to personalize your experience and improve our services. For more information on how we use cookies on our websites, visit our Cookie Policy.
Feature Physics

Anatomy of a Lightning Ball

An aerial wonder, pondered for ages, no longer seems so ghostly

By Peter Weiss

This article is only available to Science News subscribers.

Subscribers, enter your e-mail address to access our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Science News is a nonprofit.

Support us by subscribing now.

More Stories from Science News on Physics

  1. wave
    Physics

    Physicists have found quasiparticles that mimic hypothetical dark matter axions

    By Emily Conover
  2. fibers
    Materials Science

    A new cooling technique relies on untwisting coiled fibers

    By Emily Conover
  3. Didier Queloz, Michel Mayor, James Peebles
    Physics

    Physics Nobel awarded for discoveries about the universe’s evolution and exoplanets

    By Emily Conover
  4. galaxy cluster
    Space

    A new image reveals the structure of the cosmic web

    By Emily Conover
  5. SN 10 illustration
    Science & Society

    This year’s SN 10 enjoy the journey, not just the discovery

    By Science News Staff
  6. Andrea Young
    Physics

    Andrea Young uncovers the strange physics of 2-D materials

    By Emily Conover
  7. Monika Schleier-Smith
    Physics

    Monika Schleier-Smith leads elaborate quantum conversations

    By Elizabeth Quill
  8. Quantum Physics

    Sean Carroll’s new book argues quantum physics leads to many worlds

    By Tom Siegfried

From the Nature Index

Paid Content