FULGURITE ('PETRIFIED LIGHTNING') (VERY FINE EXAMPLE) - Algeria
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(‘PETRIFIED LIGHTNING’)
Sahara Desert, Algeria
In desert areas of the world, 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.
This is a very fine example showing the lustrous melted glass core.
Sahara Desert, Algeria
In desert areas of the world, 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.
This is a very fine example showing the lustrous melted glass core.
Click on a picture for a larger image
Size: 11.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 centimetres
Weight: 44 grams