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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.
While trinitite and materials of similar formation processes such as lavinite are anthropogenic, fulgurites, found in many thunderstorm-prone regions and in deserts, are naturally-formed, glassy materials and are generated by lightning striking sediments such as sand. [19] Impactite, a material similar to trinitite, can be formed by meteor ...
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.
Desert glass may refer to: Libyan desert glass, in Egypt and Libya; Atacama desert glass, in Chile; Edeowie glass, in South Australia; Darwin glass, in West Coast, Tasmania; Fulgurite, lumps of glass formed by lightning; Trinitite, a more specialised subclass is that formed during a nuclear explosion
Impactite is a form of glass formed by the impact of a meteorite, ... lightning strikes, or hypervelocity impact by one or several asteroids or comets. ...
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.
The Earth is struck by lightning nearly 20 million times each year, and bolts of lightning can travel as much as 10 to 12 miles from a thunderstorm, instantly heating the air to 50,000 degrees ...
Well-formed crystals may reach several meters in length and weigh ... Lechatelierite is an amorphous silica glass SiO 2 which is formed by lightning strikes in quartz ...