A physical simulation of ball lightning for computer graphics

This thesis presents the first attempt at a computer graphics simulation of ball lightning. It is based on observations and physical theories which have attempted to describe its properties. None of the theories presented so far can explain all the manifestations of ball lightning reported in the literature. Consequently, it was not possible to develop a purely physical simulation. In particular, little is known about the internal structure of ball lightning. Common computer graphics techniques that are efficient and easy to implement are therefore used to approximate the deformations of a ball lightning as it passes through small openings. An emphasis is placed on clearly defining a set of parameters that affect the visual qualities of the animation. In this way, the final output can be adjusted to suit the variety of observations that have been documented. Since ball lightning research is new to the field of computer graphics it necessitated an extensive introduction and survey of the current state of knowledge of the phenomenon for the thesis. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...