How Does a Ball Lightning Work?
A ball is a small round object with different uses. It’s frequently used in sports, where the game of ball plays follows the direction of the ball when it’s being hit, thrown or tossed by players. Other balls are used for more mundane activities, like juggling or catch. Whatever its purpose is, it’s a ball. And while it seems that way from a surface level perspective, consider a few of these ways the ball finds its way around.
Balls used in sports like soccer ball and lacrosse come in many shapes and sizes. While they can come in spherical, irregular or regular shapes, they all have one thing in common: they all travel in a unique orbit around the player handling them. Think of it like a football and a tennis ball (for lack of a better term) and you’ll understand the concept. This orbit determines the path the ball will travel and the speed that it can achieve while in this orbit.
The ball has been a part of history since the ancient Greeks first launched their games on a flat plain thousands of years ago. This game was known then as “board ball” was first played as a recreation of war on the streets of their city. Although it was a war game, the object’s ball was thrown in varied directions to simulate battle. As the ball was made to roll along the city streets, it was used as a means of simulated hand to eye combat.
Ball games were first introduced to the middle, high German teams in 1960. Due to a lack of space and a lack of other sporting activities in the area, these teams decided to play a game with footballs instead. This game became known as “ball soccer”, or simply “ball.” The term ball was later on used as a synonym for “goal” in German-speaking nations, which essentially meant winning the game. These early German soccer ball games were very rudimentary by modern standards, however, and the use of the ball was not widespread until the arrival of the so-called “professional” sport of football in Germany.
Over the years since, soccer has grown from being a hobby to an obsession that now requires a ball, clothing, and a goal. The balls used in these early ball games were made out of hollow bones from cows, pigs, and reindeer; these bones were filled with air to create the desired weight and shape for the ball. The football itself was made out of a flat piece of iron, covered with a cloth to allow ball play; today’s balls are designed to be heavier and stronger. All of which makes balls much more durable and usable, as well as more difficult to kick, thus requiring a higher kicking speed.
Today’s technology allows for many new advancements in the world of soccer ball lightning. One such advancement comes from the brand of designer soccer ball-lightning devices created by Japanese company Ohtsuka. A leading manufacturer of camping equipment and clothing lines, Ohtsuka creates ball lightning for both players and fans, using a unique technique of internal ball lighting that produces realistic lighting that is visible even from far away.