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Fulgurites are formed when lightning strikes the ground, fusing and vitrifying mineral grains. [7] The primary SiO 2 phase in common tube fulgurites is lechatelierite , an amorphous silica glass. Many fulgurites show some evidence of crystallization: in addition to glasses, many are partially protocrystalline or microcrystalline .
Following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, it was discovered in 2016 that between 0.6% and 2.5% of sand on local beaches was fused glass spheres formed during the bombing. Like trinitite, the glass contains material from the local environment, including materials from buildings destroyed in the attack. The material has been called hiroshimaite ...
Vitrified sand is a type of natural glass, contrasted with manufactured glass in which soda ash or potash are added to lower the melting point. Pure quartz melts at 1,650 °C (3,002 °F). There are several natural processes that produce more or less melted sand and one man-made form: Fulgurite is sand fused by a lightning bolt hitting sand.
Vitrification of quartz can also occur when lightning strikes sand, forming hollow, branching rootlike structures called fulgurites. [18] Trinitite is a glassy residue formed from the desert floor sand at the Trinity nuclear bomb test site. [ 19 ]
A lightning strike can also create a large Lichtenberg figure in grass surrounding the point struck. These are sometimes found on golf courses or in grassy meadows. [ 12 ] Branching root-shaped " fulgurite " mineral deposits may also be created as sand and soil are fused into glassy tubes by the intense heat of the current.
Being hit directly by a lightning bolt and becoming part of the main channel of electricity flowing from the cloud to the ground is one of the least common ways to be struck by lightning, Dr. Mary ...
When the dazzling 16-foot-high leaded stained- glass window arrived in Canton in 1913, it made front-page news—and postponed the new church’s dedication by a week because of a shipping delay.
Lightning can, and often does, strike the same place twice. Lightning in a thunderstorm is more likely to strike objects and spots that are more prominent or conductive. For instance, lightning strikes the Empire State Building in New York City on average 23 times per year. [250] Heat lightning does not exist as a