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A note on the formation of fulgurites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

D. J. Williams  and
W. Johnson
D. J. Williams
Affiliation:
University Engineering Department, Cambridge
W. Johnson
Affiliation:
University Engineering Department, Cambridge
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Summary

A phenomenon similar to the sand tube fulgurite has been observed in experimental work carried out to compact and sinter metal powders using high voltage discharges. The sand tube fulgurite is a fused quartz tube formed by the passage of a lightning discharge. Further experiments, in which a high voltage discharge was passed from a pointed electrode held above a large volume of copper powder, through to an earthed plate, give a copper product with the characteristic fulgurite morphology. This result suggests that the quartz sand can behave as a good conductor in the lightning discharge, perhaps due to conducting coatings on the surface of the sand particles.

Type
Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 117 , Issue 3 , May 1980 , pp. 293 - 296
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1980

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