ScienceExplain Like I'm 5Beginner
The Mystery of Ball Lightning course icon

The Mystery of Ball Lightning

Like Duolingo, but for The Mystery of Ball Lightning. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.

For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.

54 bite-size levelsAbout 5 minutes each

Free during early access · No credit card · iPhone & Android

Sparky the Sphere
The Mystery of Ball Lightning
with Sparky the Sphere
54
Levels
4
Sections
5
Min/day
What you'll learn

Key ideas in The Mystery of Ball Lightning

  • Ball lightning typically appears as a floating, glowing sphere
  • It moves independently of wind or gravity, often horizontally
  • The phenomenon is extremely rare and unpredictable in nature
  • It is difficult to reliably reproduce the exact conditions in a laboratory setting
  • Standard lightning is a near-instantaneous discharge
  • Ball lightning persists significantly longer than a cloud-to-ground strike
  • Defining physical characteristics of a ball lightning event
  • Ball lightning is most commonly reported during or after thunderstorms
  • Reports include orbs entering houses through windows or appearing inside aircraft
  • Why ball lightning is difficult to categorize scientifically
  • Duration of ball lightning compared to standard lightning
  • Common environments where orbs are reported
  • Ball lightning involves ionized air particles
  • Plasma is the state of matter associated with electrical discharges
  • Standard lightning follows a path of least resistance to the ground
  • Ball lightning can move horizontally and independently of gravity
Why not just Google it

You've tried the other tabs

Wikipedia

Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.

YouTube

You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.

ChatGPT

One answer, then back to scrolling.

Online courses

Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.

Tomo gives The Mystery of Ball Lightning the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.

Try a question

Here's what playing it feels like

A real question from this course. Take your best guess.

A Glowing Visitor Appears

If a glowing ball of lightning floated into your room, what shape would it most likely be?

Get it right to open this lesson and 53 more in the app.

Course map

Where The Mystery of Ball Lightning takes you

Explore the strange glowing orbs that float through walls and baffle scientists. Learn about the history, sightings, and the science behind this rare weather phenomenon.

  1. 1

    What is Ball Lightning?

    • The Glowing Orb Mystery
    • How It Differs from Regular Lightning
    • Famous Sightings Through History
    • Common Shapes and Colors
  2. 2

    How It Behaves

    • Floating and Moving Through Air
    • Passing Through Glass and Walls
    • The Sounds and Smells It Leaves Behind
    • How Long Does It Last?
    • How It Finally Disappears
    • Is It Dangerous to Humans?
  3. 3

    Scientific Theories

    • The Vaporized Dirt Theory
    • Electricity Trapped in a Bubble
    • Microwaves and Hidden Energy
  4. 4

    Studying the Unbelievable

    • Trying to Make It in a Lab
    • Capturing It on Camera
    • The Future of Lightning Research
    • Why It Remains a Secret of Nature
    • How to Report a Sighting

4 sections · 18 units · 54 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.

How it's taught

You pick the voice

This course
Explain Like I'm 5

The Mystery of Ball Lightning is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.

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