Ball Lightning

Author: Cixin Liu
Publisher: Tor Books
ISBN: 0765394081
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 385

Book Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Three-Body Trilogy, Cixin Liu's Ball Lightning is the story of what happens when the beauty of scientific inquiry runs up against the drive to harness new discoveries with no consideration of their possible consequences. When Chen’s parents are incinerated before his eyes by a blast of ball lightning, he devotes his life to cracking the secret of this mysterious natural phenomenon. His search takes him to stormy mountaintops, an experimental military weapons lab, and an old Soviet science station. The more he learns, the more he comes to realize that ball lightning is just the tip of an entirely new frontier. While Chen’s quest for answers gives purpose to his lonely life, it also pits him against soldiers and scientists with motives of their own: a beautiful army major with an obsession with dangerous weaponry, and a physicist who has no place for ethical considerations in his single-minded pursuit of knowledge. "Wildly imaginative."—Barack Obama on The Three-Body Problem trilogy Tor books by Cixin Liu The Three-Body Problem Series #1 The Three-Body Problem #2 The Dark Forest #3 Death's End At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Nature of Ball Lightning

Author: Stanley Singer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1468418661
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
In 1837 a comprehensive discussion of lightning appeared in the Annual of the French Bureau des Longitudes with a section on ball lightning which provided for the first time a readily available source in the scientific literature of the basic properties of this curious natural phenomenon. The author, Francois Arago, was the dominant influence in the French Academy of Sciences in the nineteenth century, having become a member of that august body at the age of twenty-three. His attention alone doubtless served at that time to establish the validity of scientific interest in the problem. In addition his discussion covered some of the major questions associated with ball lightning in a nota bly clear-sighted, effective style. Later reconsideration of the same questions often provided no significant improvement over Arago's discussion. There followed a dauntless band of varying but always small number who attempted to account for an apparently simple natural occurrence, a ball of fire usually seen in thunderstorms, with the best knowledge that advancing science could provide. All attempts to deal with this phenomenon were in variably frustrated. The characteristics of ball lightning could be readily cataloged, but they firmly resisted both experimental reproduction and theo retical explanation. One may say that to this day there is no explanation accepted by a large number of scientists. Several investigators of great ability and considerable accomplishment in different fields of science, including Faraday, Kelvin, and Arrhenius, took note of the problem.

Ball Lightning

Author: Mark Stenhoff
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0306470926
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 356

Book Description
Down comes a deluge of sonorous hail, Or prone-descending rain. Wide-rent, the clouds Pour a whole flood, and yet, its flame unquenched, Th’unconquerable lightning struggles through. Ragged and fierce, or in red whirling balls, And fires the mountains with redoubled rage. Black from the stroke, above, the smould’ring pine Stands a sad shattered trunk; and, stretched below, A lifeless group the blasted cattle lie. James Thompson, “The Seasons” (1727) have been investigating ball lightning for more than two decades. I published a ball lightning report in Nature in 1976 that received worldwide publicity and I consequently many people wrote to me with accounts of their own experiences. Within a very short time, I had accumulated about 200 firsthand accounts, and the file has continued to grow steadily since then. Several things impressed me. Few of those who wrote to me had any detailed foreknowledge of ball lightning at the time of their observation. Nonetheless, once reports of other phenomena such as St. Elmo’s fire had been eliminated, the remaining descriptions were remarkably consistent. Furthermore, nearly all who contacted me were keen to have an explanation of what they had seen and seemed entirely sincere.

Ball Lightning

Author: Herbert Boerner
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9783030207854
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 205

Book Description
Ball lightning is an enigma. These luminous objects that appear occasionally during thunderstorms and can reach several meters in diameter have been a mystery to science for about 200 years. Despite several thousands of reported observations, their nature is still unknown. In this book, well documented cases of ball lightning are described and used to unravel some aspects of this mysterious form of atmospheric electricity. Throughout the book, the author discusses the various facets of the problem in an accessible but rigorous style, delivering a readable and informative text that will captivate the curious reader. He finally reaches the surprising conclusion that the solution to this puzzle may have been hidden in plain sight for many years. A foreword by Earle Williams, leading lightning researcher at MIT, introduces the book.

Ball Lightning and Bead Lightning

Author: James Barry
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1475717105
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316

Book Description
The purpose of this monograph is to review the known physical aspects of two unusual forms of atmospheric luminous phenomena, to deduce their characteristics and properties, and to promote efforts to improve their understanding. These two forms, called ball lightning and bead lightning, have visual images that differ from the linear image associated with normallightning. The terms "balliightning" and "bead lightning" are used to denote atmospheric luminous forms which are occasionally observed and have the geometrie shape suggested by their name. Vet, it is possible that neither phenomenon may in fact be a form of lightning in the sense of a continuous electrical discharge. Bead lightning has been described as the residue of a cloud-to cloud or cloud-to-ground lightning stroke and has the appearance of aseries of luminous balls separated by dark regions, thus resembling astring of pearls, and remains visible for about one second. Ball lightning has been described as a single luminous globe appearing ne ar the ground after a lightning stroke and also remaining visible for about one second. Both phenomena remain visible far longer than normal lightning flashes.

Ball Lightning Explanation

Author: Clint Seward
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1458373738
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 106

Book Description
Ball Lightning is a natural phenomenon that is often associated with lightning. This book provides an explanation of Ball Lightning and includes the first report of an observation of Ball Lightning while it is forming. This book also describes potential clean energy technologies that will be possible based on this explanation.

The Three-Body Problem

Author: Cixin Liu
Publisher: Tor Books
ISBN: 1466853441
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 400

Book Description
The inspiration for the Netflix series 3 Body Problem! WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL Over 1 million copies sold in North America “A mind-bending epic.”—The New York Times • “War of the Worlds for the 21st century.”—The Wall Street Journal • “Fascinating.”—TIME • “Extraordinary.”—The New Yorker • “Wildly imaginative.”—Barack Obama • “Provocative.”—Slate • “A breakthrough book.”—George R. R. Martin • “Impossible to put down.”—GQ • “Absolutely mind-unfolding.”—NPR • “You should be reading Liu Cixin.”—The Washington Post The Three-Body Problem is the first novel in the groundbreaking, Hugo Award-winning series from China's most beloved science fiction author, Cixin Liu. Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision. The Three-Body Problem Series The Three-Body Problem The Dark Forest Death's End Other Books by Cixin Liu Ball Lightning Supernova Era To Hold Up the Sky The Wandering Earth A View from the Stars At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Supernova Era

Author: Cixin Liu
Publisher: Tor Books
ISBN: 1250306043
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 349

Book Description
From science fiction legend Cixin Liu, the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of The Three-Body Problem, comes a vision of the future that reads “like Ursula K Le Guin rewriting The Lord of the Flies for the quantum age.” (NPR). In those days, Earth was a planet in space. In those days, Beijing was a city on Earth. On this night, history as known to humanity came to an end. Eight light years away, a star has died, creating a supernova event that showers Earth in deadly levels of radiation. Within a year, everyone over the age of thirteen will die. And so the countdown begins. Parents apprentice their children and try to pass on the knowledge needed to keep the world running. But when the world is theirs, the last generation may not want to continue the legacy left to them. And in shaping the future however they want, will the children usher in an era of bright beginnings or final mistakes? "This audacious and ultimately optimistic early work will give Liu's English-reading fans a glimpse at his evolution as a writer and give any speculative fiction reader food for deep thought." -- Shelf Awareness At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Lightning of Possible Storms

Author: Jonathan Ball
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781771666138
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Winner of the 2021 Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction Aleya's world starts to unravel after a café customer leaves behind a collection of short stories. Surprised and disturbed to discover that it has been dedicated to her, Aleya delves into the strange book... A mad scientist seeks to steal his son's dreams. A struggling writer, skilled only at destruction, finds himself courted by Hollywood. A woman seeks to escape her body and live inside her dreams. Citizens panic when a new city block manifests out of nowhere. The personification of capitalism strives to impress his cutthroat boss. The more Aleya reads, the deeper she sinks into the mysterious writer's work, and the less real the world around her seems. Soon, she's overwhelmed as a new, more terrifying existence takes hold. The Lightning of Possible Storms blends humour and horror, doom and daylight, offering myriad possible storms. Praise for Jonathan Ball: "Cheerfully horrifying, and full of the unexpected, The Lightning of Possible Storms is an entertaining Borgesian foray into the existential dread of writing itself." --Saleema Nawaz, author of Songs for the End of the World "This collection is so beautifully written and expertly composed--it is rich, layered, and complex. In every story, characters are forced to confront their secret, subterranean selves, their suppressed longings and anxieties, and the stories will linger with you long after you've finished them, much like the last strains of a beloved song. Witty, sad, sardonic, each story is its own masterpiece. This collection confirms Jonathan Ball as one of Canada's very best writers." --Suzette Mayr, author of Dr. Edith Vane and the Hares of Crawley Hall

Shades of Grey

Author: Jasper Fforde
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101159650
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 419

Book Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Thursday Next series comes a “laugh-out-loud funny” (Los Angeles Times) and “brilliantly original” (Booklist, starred review) novel of a man attempting to navigate a color-coded world. “A rich brew of dystopic fantasy and deadpan goofiness.”—The Washington Post Welcome to Chromatacia, where the Colortocracy rules society through a social hierarchy based on one’s limited color perception. In this world, you are what you can see. Eddie Russet wants to move up. When he and his father relocate to the backwater village of East Carmine, his carefully cultivated plans to leverage his better-than-average red perception and marry into a powerful family are quickly upended. Eddie must content with lethal swans, sneaky Yellows, inviolable rules, an enforced marriage to the hideous Violet deMauve, and a risky friendship with an intriguing Grey named Jane who shows Eddie that the apparent peace of his world is as much an illusion as color itself. Will Eddie be able to tread the fine line between total conformity—accepting the path, partner, and career delineated by his hue—and his instinctive curiosity that is bound to get him into trouble?