Progress in the creation of long-lived atmospheric luminous formations in a pulsed electric discharge with an electrolytic electrode

This work presents an analysis of the research conducted in many countries in recent years on the so-called Gatchina discharge. The findings indicate that the Gatchina discharge exhibits the majority of the characteristics of natural ball lightning, making it the most effective method for reproducing and studying this phenomenon. To a large extent, our new results are based on experiments performed for the first time to visualize dust particles arising in an erosive emission, as well as the formation of vortex flows. These experiments make it possible to explain the ability of the Gatchina discharge to maintain its shape for a long time in the afterglow.