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Tiny Electric Discharges Between Methane Microbubbles Point to Will-o’-the-Wisp Cause

A PNAS experiment captured microlightning igniting methane under controlled conditions, leaving field confirmation next.

© Hermann Hendrich
Image
Image
A screenshot from a video showing multiple spontaneous discharge events (microlightning) occurring between adjacent methane–air microbubbles under high–density bubbling conditions. The video was recorded using a high–speed camera (Photron T2410) at 24,000 frames per second (fps). It captures 0.5 seconds of real time and is played back at 3 fps, 8000 times slower than actual speed to highlight sub-millisecond flash events distributed across the field of view.

Overview

  • Researchers reported on September 29 in PNAS that methane–air microbubbles in water produced spontaneous electrical discharges detectable as brief flashes.
  • High-speed imaging, photon counting, emission spectroscopy, temperature monitoring and mass spectrometry linked the microlightning to methane oxidation that released light and heat.
  • The work extends earlier observations of microlightning in charged droplets, suggesting a plausible ignition route for the blue marsh lights described in folklore.
  • Independent chemists welcomed the lab evidence yet cautioned that swamps differ from the setup and that sparse modern sightings require on-site measurements before firm conclusions.
  • Authors note potential environmental and technological implications, including interfacial electricity driving natural redox chemistry and possible applications in pollutant breakdown or greener reaction triggers.