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Naturally those who criticize him are the "true-believers" who accept any sighting report of a UFO, no matter how thin are the supporting facts, as absolute "evidence" that people on Earth are being constantly observed by a super-race from some distant star system. Those who praise him, on the other hand, are usually the "true non-believers," who start off with the equally biased assumption that UFOs are natural atmospheric phenomena that are misread by untrained, if imaginative, crackpots. In between, Mr. Klass enjoys the respect of trained electronic and nuclear scientists. The Klass theory basically is that ball lightning and other kinds of nuclear plasmas can account for a majority of the weird UFOs reported. Their erratic movements and speed, their changing colors and spinning motions as well as their tendency to just "go out like a light switched off" are all explainable A plasma simply is an ionized gas - such as the glowing gases in neon, argon and mercury display signs or in fluorescent lighting fixtures - through which electrons and protons flow freely together without combining into atoms. In other words, plasmas are the result of a free intermingling of negative and positive charges of electricity that flow constantly in different directions without capturing each other, as opposite charges normally do. Nobody really knows what ball lightning is or how it is formed, but one scientific theory postulates it to be a cloud of electrons whirling around a According to Philip J. Klass: "Ball lightning has been reported as hanging motionless at times, yet able to move up, down and horizontally at extremely high speeds ... sometimes exhibiting a spinning motion and ... then appear to zoom off at great speed and disappear from sight minutes ... , Add to this the discovery of Dr. J. Rand McNally, Jr., who works at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories of the Atomic Energy Commission, that ball lightning is capable of originating at random in space and you have a perfect description of the average spectacular UFO. However, ball lightning usually originates in the vicinity of high-tension wires or electrically charged structures. Ball lightning can also change color rapidly or slowly, depending upon what gases are present in the local atmosphere and the energy of the charged electrical particles in the plasma. For example, high- energy electrons - those moving at greater velocities than usual - can, as they collide with gas molecules in the air, break down the bonds that hold molecules together and even cause the release of invisible photons of high-energy light such as ultraviolet and X-radiation. Both of these unseen particles of radiation can damage the eyes or cause temporary blindness. Again quoting Mr. Klass: "Persons viewing UFOs at very close range sometimes report physiological effects or aftereffects. Eyes that are bloodshot, swollen or otherwise irritated sometimes have been experienced. as plasma effects. core of protons. "Ball-lightning reports indicate that (it) can have a lifetime ranging from several seconds to many "Ball lightning has been reported in sizes up to 15 feet in diameter."