Introduction

The monograph is devoted to ball lightning (BL) observed in natural conditions in the air and artificial BL, long-lived luminous formations (LLF), usually obtained in laboratories experimentally.

Joint consideration of artificial and natural BL emphasizes the need for a comprehensive analysis of such complex objects.

It is the description of the study of the properties of artificial BL and LLF in the end of 20th and 21st centuries that allows the reader to better understand what and how can be experimentally simulated.