Abstract
A BALL lightning event occurred in a house in North Berkshire on May 8, 1970; here we report subsequent investigations using thermoluminescent dating techniques. According to some theories1–4 matter close to the path of such an event may experience a radiation dose of order 1 to 1,000 rad. Since the house was built of brick and only 25 yr old, it seemed possible that the mineral inclusions in the brick would exhibit a level of thermoluminescence (TL) significantly in excess of the level resulting from the annual radiation dosage received from the uranium, thorium and potassium contained as impurities in the clay of the bricks themselves.
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References
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FLEMING, S., AITKEN, M. Radiation dosage associated with ball lightning. Nature 252, 220–221 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/252220a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/252220a0
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