Nov 5, 2009: Fulgurites

xoxoxoBruce · 11-05-2009, 12:44 AM

Fulgurites are fused sand trails, often with a glass lined hollow core, that are the result of lightning strikes on loose sandy soil.

Quote:

Few of nature’s elemental phenomena are more powerful yet less permanent than lightning… well, not exactly. Fulgurites, or “petrified lightning”, are the glassy trails of lightning strikes left in sandy soil or exposed rocks. As fragile as they are beautiful, fulgurites are the next best thing to holding a lightning bolt in your hand!

Since they're so hard to find in nature, why not make your own?
All you need is some sand, and some lightning.

Quote:

Downed power lines are one thing; artificially triggering lightning to make DIY fulgurites is another thing entirely. That’s exactly what artist Allan McCollum has done, however, not one but some hundreds of times in the summer of 1997. The results range from slim glass tubes no larger than soda straws to the Mother Of All Fulgurites, a fork-tailed monster over 17 feet deep that the Guinness World Book of Records has recognized as the world’s longest.

So next time you're playing in the sandbox (watch out for cat poop), or at the beach, if you see one of these...

...probe it.

link

SPUCK · 11-05-2009, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

As fragile as they are beautiful, fulgurites are the next best thing to holding a lightning bolt in your hand!

I can assure you the "Best Thing" is NOT holding lightning in one's hand.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

So next time you're playing in the sandbox (watch out for cat poop), or at the beach(watch out for nails and burning embers), if you see one of these...

Sundae · 11-05-2009, 06:03 AM

Ooh lovely!
I've been fascinated by fulgarites for years (since reading The Crow Road by Iain Banks).

Now I know they can look dirty too!
It's all gravy

dacliff · 11-05-2009, 08:02 AM

I first heard about this in a chick-flick from not so long ago:

Sweet Home Alabama

The ones in the movie looked a hell of a lot different tho, not at all like calcified turds.

monster · 11-05-2009, 08:28 AM

I'm pretty sure I di'int.....

.

glatt · 11-05-2009, 08:35 AM

That's a vulgurite, not a fulgurite.

monster · 11-05-2009, 08:43 AM

perfect

Cloud · 11-05-2009, 08:44 AM

it's the Sarlacc! run for your lives!

dacliff · 11-05-2009, 09:00 AM

Actually, 'tis coprolite

xoxoxoBruce · 11-05-2009, 11:23 AM

Don't gimme that shit.

Gravdigr · 11-05-2009, 01:58 PM

I've got some other shit over here you might like...

11-05-2009, 06:03 AM	#3
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Ooh lovely! I've been fascinated by fulgarites for years (since reading The Crow Road by Iain Banks). Now I know they can look dirty too! It's all gravy __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

11-05-2009, 08:28 AM	#5
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	I'm pretty sure I di'int..... . Attached Images __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

11-05-2009, 08:43 AM	#7
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	perfect __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

11-05-2009, 08:44 AM	#8
Cloud ... Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 8,360	it's the Sarlacc! run for your lives! __________________ "Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards!"

11-05-2009, 11:23 AM	#10
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Don't gimme that shit. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

11-05-2009, 08:02 AM	#4
dacliff Confounded Conjuror Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 33	I first heard about this in a chick-flick from not so long ago: Sweet Home Alabama The ones in the movie looked a hell of a lot different tho, not at all like calcified turds.

11-05-2009, 08:35 AM	#6
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	That's a vulgurite, not a fulgurite.

11-05-2009, 09:00 AM	#9
dacliff Confounded Conjuror Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 33	Actually, 'tis coprolite

11-05-2009, 01:58 PM	#11
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	I've got some other shit over here you might like... __________________ These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, EPA, FBI, DEA, CDC, or FDIC. These statements are not intended to diagnose, cause, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you feel you have been harmed/offended by, or, disagree with any of the above statements or images, please feel free to fuck right off.

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