Odd Natural Phenomena Science Has Finally Explained

Bright Side

Have you heard about those odd natural phenomena like spinning ice disks and spinning fire whirls? Scientists have finally explained how they happen, and it's fascinating! Spinning ice disks form in slow-moving rivers when a chunk of ice breaks off and starts rotating, creating a perfect circle as it grinds against other ice. Spinning fire whirls pop out during intense wildfires when heat and wind create a vortex, making a swirling column of flames. It's all thanks to a mix of temperature, density differences, and a bit of complex physics—nature's pretty amazing, right? And it has more surprises for you.   #brightside   Animation is created by Bright Side.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Listen to Bright Side on:  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/idhttps-podcasts-apple-com-podcast-bright-side/id1554898078 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/brightside/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official/ Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Snapchat - https://www.snapchat.com/p/c6a1e38a-bff1-4a40-9731-2c8234ccb19f/1866144599336960  Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me

Transcript

00:00So, in Westbrook, Maine, people saw an enormous ice disk in January 2019.

00:07This disk was like a wittery carousel.

00:09It was spinning away in the Penobscot River.

00:12Residents called it everything from an icy Lazy Susan to a frozen spinning wheel.

00:17It was estimated to be around 300 feet wide, which made it one of the biggest ice disks

00:22ever seen.

00:23Weirdly, the spinning ice disk notion isn't new.

00:27They've shown up in places like Russia and Washington before.

00:30They were almost always a perfect circle.

00:33So why do they happen?

00:34Well, some scientists in 1997 thought it was because river water created a whirlpool effect

00:40around a chunk of ice, smoothing it out to be perfectly circular.

00:44Yet in 2016, other scientists claimed that river currents helped these disks get started,

00:50but temperature changes kept them twirling.

00:53Warmer water makes the ice melt and sink, creating a vortex that keeps the disk spinning.

00:58The warmer the water, the faster it spins.

01:04Ever heard of the Hesstelin Lights of Norway?

01:06They aren't the same as Northern Lights.

01:08Think of these lights as glowing balls.

01:11They have been seen since at least the 1930s.

01:14These luminous wonders show up in all sorts of colors and shapes.

01:18Sometimes they flicker, and other times they just chill in the air.

01:21The Hesstelin Lights can show up 10 to 20 times a week.

01:25They appear both during the day and at night.

01:28They can last for just a few seconds, or hover for over an hour.

01:32Interestingly, nobody has a clue about what exactly they are.

01:36The efforts to understand these lights include Project Hesstelin, started in 1983, and later

01:42projects like the Triangle Project.

01:45Despite ongoing research, there's no consensus on the origin of the lights.

01:50Some suggested explanations include misperception of celestial bodies, aircraft, or mirages.

01:57One theory ties the lights to airborne dust from mining, while another mentions plasma

02:02formed by ionized air and dust during radon decay.

02:09Ringing rocks is a cool geological thing you probably didn't know about, and it's our

02:14next stop on the Mysterious Natural Phenomena Tour.

02:17You can find them in Bucks County in the US.

02:20If you give these rocks a hit with a hammer or another rock, they start ringing.

02:25Scientists have been studying them, but the mystery remains.

02:28There are different hypotheses about this one too.

02:32Things like the size and shape of the boulders, and how they're stacked can affect the sounds

02:36they make.

02:37But that alone doesn't give them the ability to ring.

02:41Even though the sound is often described as metallic, it's likely because of the rock's

02:45density and internal stress, not just its iron content.

02:49A scientific experiment from the 1960s suggested that the ringing ability came from some internal

02:56stress, not external weathering.

02:58The live rocks, found in the middle of boulder fields, showed expansion or relaxation after

03:04being cut, indicating internal elastic stresses.

03:08A slow weathering rate in dry fields could cause these stresses.

03:13The relic stress theory suggests that these boulders act like guitar strings.

03:17A destressed boulder gives a dull thud, but a stressed one resonates at different frequencies.

03:23The boulders can still ring when removed from their fields, leading to myths about stealing

03:28them.

03:29Most fields are now cleared of smaller ringers, and breaking large boulders stops the ringing.

03:34Large equipment is needed to move the remaining small ringers, weighing over a ton.

03:42Now let's talk about the Naga fireballs.

03:45They only show up along the Mekong River in Asia.

03:48These picky fireballs hang out in just a 155-mile stretch of the river.

03:54The reddish glowing balls rise naturally from the water into the air.

03:58Their scope ranges from small particles to the size of a basketball.

04:02The reported number of fireballs varies from tens to thousands per night.

04:07They can be spotted all year round, but they seem to go wild during the full moon and late

04:12autumn.

04:13Why?

04:14Well, that's just another one of their little mysteries.

04:17Some have tried to explain the phenomenon scientifically.

04:20One theory suggests that flammable phosphine gas from the Martian environment could be

04:25the cause.

04:26However, skeptics argue that spontaneous ignition isn't likely to be the reason.

04:31Another scientific explanation involves free-floating plasma orbs created when surface electricity

04:37is discharged into a solution.

04:39Still, these typically occur in controlled settings during experiments, and not naturally.

04:47We can carry on with ball lightning.

04:49It's a super rare thing – a glowing ball that shows up in the air.

04:53It likes to make an appearance close to the ground during thunderstorms, hanging out with

04:58regular lightning.

04:59It can be red, orange, yellow, white, or blue, and it's often accompanied by a hissing

05:04sound and a funky smell.

05:07This flashy sphere of light is a quick show.

05:10It lasts just a few seconds, zooming around, and then – boop – it's gone, sometimes

05:15quietly, sometimes with a little pop.

05:18Ball lightning might seem like a troublemaker, but it's usually harmless.

05:22Sure, it's been known to burn or melt stuff on occasion, but it's not out to get us.

05:28Scientists aren't entirely sure why it happens or how it's related to regular lightning.

05:33People have been tossing around ideas like weird air or gas behavior, high-density plasma

05:38stuff, or even a vortex of glowing gases.

05:41Even microwave radiation trapped in a plasma bubble is on the list.

05:45But don't get it confused with bead lightning.

05:48That's a different one, more like a string of beads.

05:51And it happens when a bolt of lightning sticks around for a good chunk of a second.

05:58Shh!

05:59We're now at the Mopini Silence Zone.

06:02It's this spot near this place in Mexico.

06:05The story goes that in this desert patch, you can't pick up any radio signals or talk

06:10to anyone.

06:11In July 1970, a rocket from Utah went off course and landed here.

06:16It was carrying some sort of cobalt.

06:18Authorities had to haul away tons of soil from the crash site.

06:22Now thanks to the cleanup, the Silence Zone is wrapped up in myths.

06:27People talk about weird magnetic stuff, messing with radios, and about plants and critters

06:31going through mutations.

06:33Well, locals go with it, boosting tourism in the region.

06:39Alright, we can now talk a bit about the sun.

06:42Well, it's not just a big ball of fire.

06:44It's got an outer layer called the corona.

06:47Think of it as an invisible sun jacket made of gases.

06:51You usually can't see it because the sun is super bright.

06:54But there's a trick.

06:56During a total solar eclipse, when the moon slides between us and the sun, the corona

07:00shows up, all glowing and white.

07:03The corona is scorching hot, even hotter than the sun's surface, which is kinda weird.

07:09Scientists are on a mission to crack this heat mystery.

07:11They found something called heat bombs shooting from the sun into the corona, exploding and

07:17warming things up even more.

07:19But that might be just one piece of the puzzle.

07:22You see, the sun's surface is like a playground, covered in magnetic fields.

07:27These magnetic fields create cool shapes on the sun, like loops and streamers.

07:32Special telescopes help us see these cool patterns up close.

07:35The corona stretches way out into space, and from there, it sends out the solar wind that

07:41moves through our solar system.

07:42Its particles are so speedy that they escape the sun's gravity.

07:48So, there's this cool spot called Kuala Sangalor Beach that you can only check out

07:54when the tide is low.

07:56The timing changes every day, and you can't get there when the tide is high.

08:00Most of the time, it's hiding under the sea, not even on the map.

08:04But when the tide's just right, bam, it pops up!

08:08Kind of like Malaysia's own version of Selar Day Uyuni.

08:11People call it the Mirror of the Sky because when it's not underwater, it turns into

08:16a giant reflection of the sky.

08:18An awesome spot for cool insta-pics.

08:21Besides being a sweet travel spot, it's also home to a bunch of marine life, like

08:25sea and baby clams, that live all over the sandy shores.

08:30That's it for today, so hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like

08:36and share it with your friends.

08:37Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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