Ball lightning: What nature is trying to tell the plasma research community

Summary form only given. The energy density of a few lightning balls has been observed to be as high as 20,000 joules per cubic centimeter, well above the limit of chemical energy storage of, for example, TNT at 2000 joules per cubic centimeter. This suggests magnetic energy storage in a plasma-related phenomenon, which should be of great theoretical and practical interest to the plasma research community. If the physical processes responsible for ball lightning were understood, this would have very interesting implications for fusion research (because of their long confinement duration, high energy density, and ability to operate at one atmosphere); for industrial plasma engineering (because of their ability to exist for long durations as a glow discharge at one atmosphere, and provide active species for atmospheric surface treatment of materials); and for military applications (because of the observed ability of ball lightning to cause stunning and death), and perhaps provide a nonlethal and nonmaiming military antipersonnel weapon, as well as a potential form of portable electromagnetic pulse to distable sophisticated electronic weapons.