Scientists develop their own lightning ball machine

Apparently we've been missing out in the big city because the real fun seems to be had on the farm where, if you're lucky, you can spy a hovering ball of lightning during a thunderstorm chasing a cow or causing some such mayhem. It turns out this semi-freaky ball lighting stuff is thought to be a result of a lightning strike which kicks up dirt when it hits the ground and then slowly burns off the minerals as a slow moving fireball. Of course scientists can't leave well enough alone, so some researchers in Israel have built their very own fireball machine using the magnetron from a domestic microwave. The device drills into a solid, and when it pulls out it brings with it a 3-cm floating fireball that quivers like a jellyfish and floats in the air, but only lasts a few milliseconds. The developers of the device are hoping they can use the lightning balls for practical applications, but we're looking forward to a little bit of Mario-style Fire Flower firepower.