The sand further away from the center of the lightning strike doesn’t fully melt, so it keeps part of its original shape and gives the fulgurite’s outer walls a rough, grainy shape.įulgurites are considered mineraloids, not minerals, because they are made up of a number of different minerals from all of the sand that was in the vicinity of the lightning strike.
The melting silica then fuses back together when it cools, usually forming a tube-like structure with smooth inner walls. So, when a lightning bolt (up to 30,000 ☌) strikes sand, the silica melts almost instantly. Most sand melts around temperatures of 1800 ☌.
#LIGHTNING STRIKES SAND FREE#
Sand fulgurites are often found on beaches or in deserts that contain dry sand that is free of fine silt and clay. They are most often found on mountains and need to be chiseled out of their surroundings. Rock fulgurites, which are rarer than sand fulgurites, form like “ veins inside rocks” after lightning strikes rock. There are two types of fulgurites, rock and sand. The “striking” glass sculptures seen in Sweet Home Alabama were in fact created by Simon Pearce Glass Company of Vermont-and they look nothing like actual fulgurites! Hollywood took some creative liberties here, though. The romantic leads then see that a beautiful glass sculpture had been formed when lightning hit the sand. In the opening scenes of the movie, two kids are seen kissing on the beach when lightning strikes a nearby metal pole. Fulgurites were also a plot point in the 2002 romantic comedy, Sweet Home Alabama starring Reese Witherspoon.
#LIGHTNING STRIKES SAND SERIES#
They appeared in the hit television series Supernatural as an instrument for summoning gods and demons. Their shape mimics the path of the lightning bolt as it hit the ground.įulgurites were treasured finds in ancient Greece, as it was believed they could bring miracles, power, good fortune, and good favor with Zeus.Cicero, a philosopher in the Roman Empire, used the expression conderefulmina, meaning “ to dig up thunderbolts,” suggesting that early Romans also had knowledge of fulgurites.įast forward a few millennia, and fulgurites are still a hot topic. In ancient Greece, it was believed that Zeus would hurl lightning bolts down onto the earth, leaving behind proof of his almighty powers in the form of glass, hollow artifacts known today as “fulgurites.” Fulgurites, sometimes called “ petrified lightning” and “lightning stones,” are natural tubes of glass formed by the fusion of silica (quartz) sand or rock from a lightning strike.
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