Gem Profile- Fulgurite

by Judy Ellis

Fulgurite

I love watching the lightning flash across the sky, hearing the thunder roll and echo as it bounces off the mountains and seeing the rivers of water in the road as the earth soaks up the much-needed moisture.

I think what gives these storms their impressive noise and power is the lightning that builds and discharges, creating an amazing show of Mother Nature's might. When lightning strikes the ground, however, it can cause both destruction and also create something amazing as it becomes frozen in the ground as Fulgurite, which is Latin for thunderbolt.

What is Fulgurite:

Lightning strikes reach temperatures of around 3,270 degrees Fahrenheit, creating enough heat to instantly transform high-silica and quartz-rich soil into glass at the point of impact.

The result is the formation of hollow tubes that are smooth on the inside and surrounded on the outside by partially melted and fused soil.

Though they may not be conventionally attractive, these natural glass formations are beautiful in their own way.

A single Fulgurite

Why is it so unique?

So, is a fulgurite created every time lightning strikes the ground? The answer is probably not.

Researchers from the University of Florida Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering have studied the effects of lightning on power lines above and below ground at Camp Blanding near Starke, Florida, since 1994. Their findings show that lightning can blow sand upward, consume soil, and only sometimes form a fulgurite.

They discovered that soils with higher silica and quartz content, especially when densely packed, are much more likely to produce fulgurites.

Researchers have also found that lightning may strike the ground and travel down to the water table, sometimes branching underground for several feet before stopping. In 1996, they uncovered an exceptionally large fulgurite that set a world record for size.

Florida has the greatest number of known fulgurites because it experiences some of the highest lightning activity in the world, with 10 to 15 strikes per square kilometer each year.

Fulgurites have also been discovered atop high mountain ranges such as the Alps, Sierra Nevadas, Cascades, Wasatch, and Uinta ranges.

Naturally formed fulgurites can range from just a few inches to several feet in length, with diameters varying from drinking straw thin to several inches wide.

Fulgurites can also be created in laboratory settings by arcing electricity through high-silica sand, though these are typically much smaller, measuring only one to two inches long.

Stereoscopic picture a small tube Fulgurite and a more irregular one.

Wrapping it up.

Before you head out into a thunderstorm hoping to witness a lightning strike and dig up your own fulgurite, remember that not every strike creates one, and not every type of soil is suitable for its formation.

Lightning travels at roughly 140,000 miles per hour and can reach temperatures that rival the surface of the sun.

It can also be extremely dangerous, so be careful.

As for me, I will be staying comfortably inside my air-conditioned home, hoping those clouds on the horizon bring some rain, some thunder, and maybe a few new fulgurites.

Gem Profile- Fulgurite

Materials

Tools

Reviews

Other Articles by Judy Ellis

Supplies

Resources

About Us

Connect With Us