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Vitrified Lightning Bolt
About the Item
An Extraordinarily well preserved specimen of Fulgurite
Tubular Lechatetierite
Formation date unknown, recovered from the Sahara Desert, Algeria, circa 2006
This remarkable natural sculpture was formed in one ten thousandth of a second, from the interaction of lightning with earth. Driven by electrical potential of around 1 billion volts, lightning heats the air to approximately 30,000 degrees Kelvin. If conditions are right, these “strikes” can melt the earth into a kind of impure glass called lechatelierite, more commonly known as fulgurite, from the Latin ‘fulgur’ (lightning).
Fulgurites contain a hollow internal glass tube, with a rough exterior which flares into spiky ridges and undulating channels. Sand grains can also be preserved, as with the present piece, and are a remnant of the instantaneous transformation of earth to glass. Owing to their rarity and the difficulty of excavation, fulgurites are usually only small, measuring just a few centimetres in length.
Length: 34.2 cm (13.5 inches)
Provenance:
- Recovered from Sahara Desert, Algeria, circa 2006.
- Dimensions:Height: 13.47 in (34.2 cm)Width: 3.55 in (9 cm)Depth: 2.37 in (6 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 2006
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:
About the Seller
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Associations
LAPADA - The Association of Arts & Antiques DealersInternational Confederation of Art and Antique Dealers' AssociationsThe British Antique Dealers' Association
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
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