Scientists of the Max Plank Institute and Berlin's Humboldt University have generated a ball of lightning in the laboratory.
The facility can generate impressive “ball-lightning“ in every possible manifestation and colour about every five minutes. Professor Fussmann: “Why luminous phenomena occur at all is anything but clear: They continue to be visible about 300 milliseconds after the current has decayed and the energy input is thus cut off; however, they should really be quenched after a few milliseconds at most. Furthermore, the plasma glows very brightly, although the plasmoids appear to be rather cold. A sheet of paper placed above them does get lifted, but it does not catch fire.“
http://www.ipp.mpg.de/ippcms/eng/presse/pi/05_06_pi.html - via Olgui