Abstract
COVINGTON'S well documented sighting1 of ball lightning involves a clear interaction of the lightning with familiar objects, in this case a wharf pile. I have estimated the energy released by the destruction of the pile as described by Covington. This estimate places a lower limit on the energy of the ball, when reasonable assumptions on the composition and size of the piling are made.
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Covington, A. E., Nature, 226, 259 (1970).
Sass, F., and Bouché, C., Dubbel's Taschenbuch für den Maschinenbau, eleventh ed., 547 (Springer Verlag, Berlin, 1958).
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ZIMMERMAN, P. Energy Content of Covington's Lightning Ball. Nature 228, 853 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/228853a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/228853a0
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