Exogenic Fulgurite ——Sure Ain’t No JAR

[Cecilia]

LinnyMan sent this to me without any annotations or speculation on what it is. When I first looked at it, I thot fulgurite, but all fulgarite I’ve seen has gritty texture and tubular shape. Altho this gritty one side, and porous like scoria, other side smooth bubbles, and kinda like botryoidal chalcedony:


Here’s a picture of “regular” (is there such a thing!?) fulgurite from Texas (https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/m...acts/fulgurite), and one of an “exogenic ” for sale Worthpoint:



The difference is where the minerals melted by lightening cool. Instead of both heating and cooling in the ground, the melting exogenic’s material is thrown into the air where it solidifies again. Hence the name “exogenic” (outside, external). Is that not just one of the coolest/hottest/coolest things ever?!

[gregszybala]

Cecelia, the pics aren't showing.

[Cecilia]

Here again, pics 1-4 what LinnyMan sent (btw, thank you, LinnyMan!), pic 5 regular Texas fulgurite, pic 6 exogenic fulgurite for sale internet Worthpoint:

[tomclark]

Probably 30 years ago I went to a party at a friend's house. He was renting the house and he took care of the lawn, etc. When I got there he was all PO'd about this big, glassy rock at the edge of the garage that he had cut his ankle on while edging. Ranting and raving (got party stared early??) he got a sledgehamer and whacked it into pieces. I thought it was a VERY interesting rock and when he asked if I wanted it/any I said of course and loaded most of it into my car. This was a pretty large, flatty/oblongish, apparently melted soil and sand nodule. I've had these pieces all these years and here and there I post pics asking for ID...have not seen any pics of fulgurites that are of this size and character. Many years later that friend moved and his girlfriend was called by the owner of the property asking, "Where is my specimen!?!?" Oh jeez... !! There was some story that this "specimen" has been displayed and/or wanted for display.... I did try to find the owner but he died after selling that property. You can see the outer surface cooled causing a scaly, melted sand surface. Interior is glassy with bubbles. Can see individual sand grains fused together. It is either a fulgurite of sorts or maybe a power system discharge/failure?

[Ron Kelley]

Tom that's cool (now). You know what I would do with it.

[Cecilia]

That is wonderful story! And sounds like those recounted by finders/sellers internet buy-my-rock sites (they lil more believable than the buy-my-rarest-of-rare-artifact sellers who want gazillion $ for JAR)

P.s. never sell it!

[oldrocks2]

Way out of my area of knowledge but the piece looks like it has been very hot, melted. How about a piece of dilithium crystal depleated and ejected from an UFO as trash.
The only fulgurites I have seen are like photo 5. I wonder if the strike material would make differant types. Cool piece in any case. JAF ?

[Cecilia]

Yay! You asked perfect Qs! Looky this academic article, with word “Cosmic” in title:

https://www.academia.edu/3118202/Very_high_temperature_impact_melt_products_as_evidence_for_cosmic_airbursts_and_impacts_12_900_years_ago

Author loves, loves, loves acronyms, and uses ET, SLO, YDB, lotsa others (ET of course extraterrestrial, and SLO scoria like object, YDB Younger Dryas boundary, just to get you started), and no wonder, he writes for PANS (journal of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).

There is another academic article in a geology journal about mineral content exogenic fulgurite, but it must be very valuable and/or top secret coz link.com won’t even let me copy title.

[oldrocks2]

Interesting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electr...disintegration

Could your piece be a hunk of melt glass from the YDB. Might of wacked a T-Rex on the way back down. I jest.

[gregszybala]

I grew up in the Indiana dunes along the South shore of Lake Michigan. Lots and lots of sand and lots of hiking. I have always hoped to find one but not yet, maybe this year!

[Cecilia]

Please do!

[painshill]

Cool pieces!

Here's a few of mine:

[painshill]

That fourth one has the beginnings of what are known as 'Lichtenburg figures' where the energy dissipates through what it strikes. Below you can see these patterns from lightning on a golf course, a concrete pavement, and an unfortunate person (or fortunate, depending on how you look at it).



Different story if whatever is struck is readily meltable. Here's what happens when lightning strikes Asphalt:

[Cecilia]

My o my o my! Thank you Pain!

[Ron Kelley]

Those are awesome. Poor guy it's amazing that he survived.

[Ron Kelley]

Lightning is a powerful blast. I haven't found any fulgurites. Lightning hit a Balsom Fir on my place. The tree exploded. Ten to fifteen foot long spears flew up into the air and stuck in the ground when they came down. It was a strange scene.

[Cecilia]

I think the LinnyMan finds them all the time. Boy, could he show us some stuff! I hope he does. Must be a wild place where he lives!