The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-05
CURIOUS FACTS
 ABOUT STORMS Silent IhunderboIts and Balls
 of Fire ARE SOURCE OF TERROR They Very Often Cause Great Damage. Horse Power In Flash of Liqht- ning-DispIays on Noun
 tain Tops.

From Pearson's Weekly.
 In a general way we understand the theory of thunderstorms. As a matter of fact there is no phenomenon of Nature-not excepting even earthquakes of which we know so little.
 Man-niade lghtning-that Is, electricity of the highest power which we can arti- ficially produce-wil act according to certain known laws. It will, for in- stance, travel along a conductor of metal.
 But flash of lightning will frequently leap from well-defined metal path, and launch itself through the air or some adjacent object which Is an infinitely poorer conductor.
 This may be due to the almost incon- ceivable force of a flash of lightning. It is estimated that flash of lightning a mile long represents a pressure of dis charge equal to 3,OOOOO0,OOo volts.
 As such flash lasts only about the thousanth part of a second, the energy dissipated by the discharge is equal to S00000 horse power. Put it in other words, If we could find some means of saving and using lightning we should be the richer by f200 for every flash.
 Lightning is, as we know, usually ac- companied by peal of thunder which is louder the nearer the hearer is to the point of the discharge. But this is not an inyariable rule There are cases on record of most destructive lightning flashes which were unaccompanied by any sound whatsoever.
 Such a phenomenon occurred at Brad fz.1 l., T as "a silent thunderbolt' fell in a grave yard, destroying one monument and smashing to atoms nearly 70 glass cases containing wreaths of flowers. In the same summer Swanscombe, in Kent, was terrified by freak of light ming. All of sudden "a great mass of blue fire" swept along the street. and next moment 1t was seen that the fine old parish church. built nearly TOO years ago had been struck.
 The building, with all it's fine old carved oak, was soon a roaring furnace, and only a part of the chancel was saved.
 Scientists are still hopelessly at sea as to the cause of that peculiar phenomenon known as globe lightning. One such fell at Coventry some years ago during a violent thunderstorm, and, passing along street like soap bubble built of blue fire. drifted into a shed, where 1t ex- ploded, blowing the roof off the place.
 At Rheims, in France. similar fire
 ball came into a cobblers shop through
 the open window. The solitary occupant
 of the place sat perfectly still, paralyzed
 with terror, while his fearful visitant lowered for several seconds overhead
 Then it moved toward the fireplace and
 presently passed up the chimney. | Next moment there was an explosion | like shell bursting. and the upper part
 of the chimney came crashing down ir ruins.
 Ia record of a similar freak of electricity
 He was sitting at dinner at house on Lake Wener, in Sweden, when. just after l vivid flash of lightning, a brilliant white
 ball appeared over the table and, after | hanging poised there for some. seconds
 went off with a loud bang.
 Fortunately, it did no harm to any one
 although 1t was quite close to several
 people. Those who saw it suggested fl was like ball of cold lightning.
 Tn November 1909. Sydney Australia
 was visited by terrific duststorm, in the midst of which a perfect rain of electric l freballs began to fall. These set fire to | a number of houses, and a most appall- 1 ing panic set in. A cry was raised that 1 the end of the world was at hand, and people rushed out of their houses into the inlS-black dust-deep streets 1 The most amazing and terrifying dis plays of the power of lightning are seen on mountain tops. In 1890 party were l on the top of mountain in the Caucasus | when a huge violet ball surrounded by l vivid rays struck a rock near by and, exploded like bomb. burst it to atoms One of the party was badly hurt. The observatory at Pike's Peak had to be abandoned on account of the terrible vsitations of fre-balls. No conductor would protect it from being struck
 Lieutenant Finley gives vivid descrip- tion of an electric snowstorm on this mountain. Each snowflake as it fell shone with cold white fire. until he and his mule both appeared as though stud ded with luminous diamonds