Flying Lightning?

A new explanation for flying saucers has been advanced by James A. Browning '44, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the Thayer School. His theory, which appeared in a letter to The New York Time% in August, when flying-saucer reports were flying through the air like flying saucers, received wide notice in the press.

Professor Browning believes that flying saucers actually are ball-lightning, a little-known form of globular lightning which exhibits "strange antics." The literature of 100 years ago describes the luminosity, shape and maneuverability of ball-lightning in much the same terms that flying saucers are described now. Radar would detect its presence even as it detects the "saucers." It is also theoretically possible for ball-lightning to remain elevated in the air for long periods; it explodes only when it contacts some sharp metal object. In his explanation Professor Browning states, "It appears quite probable that ball-lightning is composed of highly ionized gases. The free electrons in this 'ball' create an extremely energetic electric field within a small space.... Its light mass and negative charge make sharp and rapid maneuvers possible."

Ball-lightning usually occurs during storms but it has been reported as seen in "a clear serene sky." Professor Browning in his conclusion suggests a possible check for his theory: "The clue to the correctness of the theory would be to track down each reliable report of a saucer's occurrence and to determine the presence of electrical activity in the area." A high correlation between electrical activity and the incidence of flying saucers would tend to confirm the ball-lightning hypothesis.