Ball Lightning?

[tim]

I'm reading up on crop circles at the moment - I recommend "Round in Circles" by Jim Schnabel - and the subject of ball lightning came up.
I know there has been some controversy on the subject, but what I seem to be getting is that it does exist as some sort of plasma effect. Is this right?
(And no, I don't think crop circles are anything more than excellent artwork and a hoax!)

 

[Soapy Sam]

I think the jury is still out Tim. I don't think there is much doubt that the phenomenon is real and some sort of metastable plasma is a popular notion for the cause, but I know of no reliable lab studies- and let's face it, field research is unlikely to prove much.