Ball Lightning

“Someone did a survey showing that ninety percent of people have never noticed it, but it has often appeared during daytime throughout human history. Do you really expect people to notice a small, indistinct bubble found only once in several cubic kilometers, or maybe even an order of magnitude less than that?”

“That is a little hard to believe.”

“So let’s prove it. Let’s excite a few more thunderballs, and we’ll see.”

Empty Bubbles

That afternoon, the aircraft that had been grounded for several days took flight once again. They ignited the arc at three thousand meters and excited ball lightning three times. Seven people, including Lin Yun and me, were in the helicopters watching the thunderballs through binoculars until they vanished, but none of us saw the unexcited form.

“Your eyesight isn’t good enough,” Ding Yi said, after learning the results.

“Captain Liu and I didn’t see anything either,” said Captain Zheng, one of the helicopter pilots.

“Then you need better eyesight.”

“What? We’ve got perfect vision. You can’t find anyone with better eyesight!” Captain Liu, the other helicopter pilot, said.

“Then excite a few more and look more carefully,” Ding Yi said, unconvinced.

“Professor Ding, exciting thunderballs is very dangerous. We’ve got to be cautious,” Colonel Xu said.

“I think we should do as Professor Ding says and try once more. Sometimes risks have to be taken,” Lin Yun said.

In the less than two days that Ding Yi had been at the base, Lin Yun’s attitude toward him had experienced a conspicuous transformation, from initial suspicion to respect, a respect that I had not noticed her showing toward any other individual. After the meeting, I mentioned this to her.

She said, “Ding Yi has lots of ideas. He’s contemplating ball lightning on a level far beyond our reach.”

“So far I haven’t seen any impressive ideas from him.”

“It’s not something I’ve seen. It’s a feeling I have.”

“But his abstruse enigmas are supposed to solve our problems? And his practically pathological stubbornness? I dislike it.”

“Ball lightning itself is an abstruse enigma.”

And so the next morning another three hours of exciting flight were undertaken. Two thunderballs were excited, but the results were the same as the previous day’s. Once they disappeared, there was nothing to be seen.

“I still think you need better eyesight. Could we bring in a few more senior aviators, the kind that fly aircraft with wings?” Ding Yi said.

His question angered the helicopter pilots. Captain Zheng barked, “They’re called fighter pilots. And you listen here, the air force and army aviation each have their strengths. One’s not higher or lower than the other. And as far as eyesight goes, our requirements are the same as theirs!”

Ding Yi chuckled. “I’m not interested in military issues. Even so, it’s got to be because of the distance from the target. No one would be able to see a thunderball at that distance.”

“I’m certain that no one could see it from even closer!”

“That is a possibility. It’s a transparent bubble, after all. For a target like that, conditions are quite poor for airborne observations. What we need to do is take it back and observe it on the table.”

Once again, we looked at each other uncertainly. It was a common expression for us when Ding Yi was around.

“That’s right. I’ve got a plan. We can capture an unexcited ball lightning and store it.”

“Is that possible? We can’t even see them!”

“Listen to me. While you’ve been flying, I’ve been reading the background on these,” Ding Yi said, pointing at the two superconducting batteries next to him.

“What’s that got to do with ball lightning?”

“They can store unexcited ball lightning.”

“How?”

“Simple. Contact the thunderball with a superconducting lead, no thicker than half a centimeter, drawn from the battery’s anode, and it will be conducted into the battery and stored like current. It can be released from the cathode in a similar fashion.”

“Ridiculous!” I exclaimed. Ding Yi’s tricks had become intolerable, and I now regretted inviting him.

“It won’t be easy to do,” Lin Yun said, entirely serious. “We can’t see the bubbles, so how are we supposed to contact them?”

“Major, you’re a smart person. Maybe you should think about it a bit?” Ding Yi said with a sly grin.

“Maybe like this? We can see ball lightning in its excited state, so if we extend the lead to that position at the moment it vanishes, we’ll contact the bubble.”

“You’ve got to be quick, though, or the bubble will float away,” Ding Yi said, nodding. The sly smile remained on his face.

It took us a moment to realize what Lin Yun meant. “That’s risking death!” someone shouted.

“Don’t listen to his crap, Major,” Captain Liu said, pointing at Ding Yi.

“Captain, Professor Ding is a world-famous physicist and a CAS fellow. He deserves respect,” Colonel Xu said sternly.

Ding Yi laughed and waved a hand. “Doesn’t matter. I’m used to it.”

“Oh, I’ve got an idea! Dr. Chen, I’ve got to take you someplace right away,” Lin Yun said, leading me off.

* * *