larly noteworthy. This phenomenon has been a source of interest since ancient times. Some references to it can be found on Etrurian monuments, in the works of Aristotle, Lucretius and other old sources(63). Fireballs are considered to be a form of electrical discharge generated during thunderstorms. They are rare in nature, but a fair-sized body of observations has nevertheless been assembled upon which several theories of their origin have been founded. Some hypotheses maintain that fireballs are an optical illusion (an opinion shared by Tesla until he produced them himself), others that they are the traces of meteors. The first genuine scientific approach to the problem was Arago's analysis of some twenty reports of fireballs in 1838. After the publication of his work they became a legitimate subject of scientific interest, but to this day have remained something of an enigma.
A fireball is a luminous sphere occurring during a thunderstorm. Fireballs are usually red, but other colors have also been observed: yellow, green, white and blue. Their dimensions vary, a mean diameter being about 25 cm. Unlike ordinary lightning, fireballs move slowly, almost parallel to the ground. They sometimes stop and change their direction of motion. They can last for up to 5 seconds. Their properties vary greatly from case to case, so that it is believed that there are various types. According to Singer(63) it can be stated that as yet no single theory can explain the occurrence of fireballs in nature.
Despite numerous attempts, only a few types of fireball have been created, and not entirely successfully, in the laboratory. These include the weakly luminescent fireballs generated when ordinary lightning strikes some object. Tesla mentions phenomena of this type several times as the result of sparks or streamers striking wooden objects (see e.g. photograph XL). According to recent theories, fireballs consist of a plasma zone created by electrical discharge. The latest research and calculations by Kapitsa(64) show that the lifetime of a fireball cannot be explained by the energy it receives at the time of genesis, but that it must receive energy from its surroundings. Kapitsa theorizes that this external energy is produced by a naturally created electromagnetic field. The small zone of ionized gas created by the initial lightning or other electrical phenomenon during the storm subsequently expands at the expense of the external electromagnetic field. The diameter of the plasma sphere is determined by the frequency of the external field, so that a resonance occurs. The usual dimensions of fireballs would require that the electromagnetic field have a wavelength of between 35 and 100 cm. According to this theory standing waves created by the reflection of natural electromagnetic waves from the earth would play a certain role. The theory has obtained partial experimental confirmation, but there are still many points on which it is unable to give a satisfactory explanation. It has been found that to maintain a lump of plasma in air requires a power of the electromagnetic field of about 500 W, which is much less than power which can be produced by an electrical discharge. However, too little is known about natural electromagnetic waves to allow any reliable conclusions to be drawn.
Tesla's hypothesis on the origin and maintenance of fireballs includes some points which are also to be found in the most recent theories, but it also bears the stamp of the time. For instance, like Kapitsa, Tesla considers that the initial energy of the nucleus is not sufficient to maintain the fireball, but that there must be an external source of energy. According to Tesla this energy comes from other lightnings passing through the nucleus, and the concentration of energy occurs because of the resistance of the nucleus, i.e. the greater energy-absorbing capacity of the rarefied gas than the surrounding gas through which the discharge passes. In nature the probability of other discharges passing through
