FULGURITE ('PETRIFIED LIGHTNING') - North Africa
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FULGURITE
(‘PETRIFIED LIGHTNING’)
Sahara Desert, North Africa
In desert areas of the world, hollow tubes of silica glass with a corrugated surface and spongy texture can be found, the origin of which was a puzzle. It is now known that they are formed when a lightning bolt strikes sand and instantly melts the sand grains along its path at a temperature exceeding 1,800° Celsius.
They were created in a fraction of a second and are a permanent record of the path of lightning through the ground. They have been given the name ‘fulgurites’ after the Latin fulgur, meaning thunderbolt.
Very rarely fulgurites several metres in length have been found but they are fragile and break up on excavation.
This is a reasonably large example. Smaller fulgurites are available - please enquire.
Click on a picture for a larger image
Size: 9 x 2 x 2 centimetres
Weight: 20 grams
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