![]() It is not that hard to find fulgurites if you know what to look for. Most of the time it is displayed in a mineral collection, but fulgurite jewelry does exist.Ĭlose-up of the tip of a fulgurite branch – Credit to yoyoj3d1 – CC-BY-2.0 Fulgurite Usesįulgurite is only used for decoration. The most common sources are beaches and deserts. All that is needed is lightning and sand or silica-rich rocks. Fulgurite Sourcesįulgurite can be found anywhere in the world. If you see a fulgurite in a color not found in sand you are likely dealing with dyed or man-made fulgurite. Typical colors are white, yellow, gray and reddish. The color of fulgurite depends on the type of sand that was struck. In general fulgurites are not very tough and they can easily be damaged. The hardness of fulgurite depends on the type of sand or rock it was formed from. Unfortunately it is very hard to keep these in one piece as fulgurite of this size is usually quite fragile. There are reports of fulgurites that were several meters long. It is possible to find far larger fulgurites under the right conditions though. Generally fulgurite is only a few centimeters in size. Tektite is formed when a meteorite strikes sand, the most famous example of this is a gemstone called moldavite. Lechatelierite is glass that is formed during moments of intense pressure and heat. The official name of fulgurite is lechatelierite variety fulgurite. Lightning cannot travel far into the rock and in most cases will only leave scorch marks, instead of a hole or tube. Most of these ‘rock fulgurites’ are very small and hard to find. ( Find out what the difference is between minerals and mineraloids).įulgurite does not only form in sand, it can also form in silica-rich rocks. That is why fulgurite is called a mineraloid, instead of a mineral. ![]() This means that fulgurites are not made up of a single mineral, but often a number of different minerals. The so-called ‘lightning glass’ that is formed during these lightning strikes is made up of whatever sand was in the vicinity. ![]() The rough outside is because the sand further away from the center does not fully melt and keeps part of its former shape. Usually it forms a kind of tube with smooth inner walls and rough grainy outer walls. So when a lightning bolt strikes the sand the silica melts almost instantly and fuses together when it cools. The air temperature of lightning can reach up to 30,000☌. Most sand melts around temperatures of 1800 ☌. The reason is that fulgurite is formed when lightning strikes sand. Sand fulgurites from Algeria – the color of fulgurite depends on the color of the sand.įulgurite is named after the Latin word for lightning: ‘fulgur’. ![]()
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