microlightning

In experiments at Stanford University, chemists discovered that microdroplets in fine sprays of water generate streaks of “microlightning”.

Primordial surf: ‘microlightning’ in mist may have sparked life on Earth, study finds Ian Sample 2025

Now, Richard Zare at Stanford University in California and his colleagues have observed spontaneous electric sparks between bubbles of methane and air in water in the laboratory, which they call microlightning.

We may finally know what causes will-o’-the-wisps Alex Wilkins 2025