Lightning+Sand=Glass... Fact or Fiction???
by Daniel Lamb
(Bamaweather.com-Huntsville, AL)
Lightning + sand = glass. That is the question. What true Alabamian hasn't seen
the movie "Sweet Home Alabama?" Okay, alright. Many would be outraged
by some of the inaccurate portrayals of "we folks" as a bunch of
clueless rednecks that run around doing Civil War re-enactments. But I would
venture a guess that most of you out there have seen that movie at least once in
your life. Well, in case you haven't, I'll give you a little snippet of
information from the movie. One of the main characters, "Jake", who is
played by Josh Lucas, makes a living selling glass at his famous
restaurant/store Deep South Glass. What's the significance? Well, it's
about where he gets the glass. The movie shows him driving to the beach during a
thunderstorm, putting up these metallic-looking posts all over the place in the
sand and waiting for lightning to hit the posts. When the lightning hits the
posts, the lightning comes into contact with the sand, and it makes glass, which
he blows into beautiful shapes and sells in his store.
I just assumed it was unrealistic. If such a phenomenon occurred, I should know about it already - right? Maybe not. Further research proves the existence of such phenomenon. A mineral known as fulgurite can form when lightning comes into contact with certain rocks, especially sand. The mineral is often described as tube-like, and it often branches out from the main "tube". So, the movie is totally accurate? Well, fulgurite isn't usually going to be perfectly clear. It can form into different colors. A lot of times it just looks like a malformed rock. So, is the fulgurite usually big enough to blow some really cool glass formations like in the movie? Actually, sometimes it is big enough. The largest fulgurite on record was found in Florida and was about 17 feet long.
Why is this reflection of a two year old
movie suddenly relevant?
I thought you would never ask! Case in point: early, early Memorial Day morning
in Huntsville. Lightning strikes a high tension power pole in downtown. The
lightning bolt travels through the metal guy wire into sandy soil at the base of
the pole. Colored glassy substance forms.
First, we want to extend a huge thank you to Madison County 911 Director Ernie Blair for sharing these images with Bamaweather.com. It is his submissions which prompted this story.
The first two pictures are of the glass spread
over the ground... (click to zoom)
The next two are of the pole...
Neat stuff, huh? Now, maybe you can say that you've learned something interesting today!