fulgurite

[fuhl-gyuh-rahyt]

noun

1. a tubelike formation in sand or rock, caused by lightning.

fulgurite

/ ˈfʌlɡjʊˌraɪt /

noun

1. a tube of glassy mineral matter found in sand and rock, formed by the action of lightning

fulgurite

1. A slender, usually tubular body of glassy rock produced by lightning striking and then fusing dry sandy soil.

Word History and Origins

Origin of fulgurite¹

1825–35; < Latin fulgur ( fulgurate ) + -ite ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of fulgurite¹

C19: from Latin fulgur lightning

Example Sentences

I have a lot of material samples, like foams made out of aluminum, and a piece of glass, called fulgurite, that’s made from lightning hitting sand.

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Quasicrystals might also form in other materials that were generated in violent conditions, such as fulgurite, the material made when lightning strikes rock, sand or other sediments.

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The researchers examined an unusually large and pristine fulgurite sample formed when lightning struck the backyard of a home in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, outside Chicago.

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When a lightning bolt strikes a mountaintop, it can melt rocks in a flash, leaving a narrow glassy scar called a fulgurite.

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When exposed to the elements, glasses like fulgurite slowly and steadily absorb moisture, “sort of like a sponge,” says Jonathan Castro, a volcanologist at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz.

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