Bolts of lightning melt sand and forms glass ⇨ Fulgurites

Glass from a lightning bolt in the sky: FULGURITES

Fulgurites @ home
When lightning strikes sandy ground, the sand is molten to form a hollow tube called a fulgurite. I always wanted to find one, but as you can imagine, chances are very low.

But wait a minute - I can make my own lightning! Well, I don't have a surge generator able to produce voltage and energy suitable for melting sand, but using my 4 MOT power supply I can draw a hot arc...

Image by ficusdesk via Flickr

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Black Market Meteorites >> Response to New York Times + Meteor news items

Meteorite Community Scuffles with New York Times Over Controversial Science Article - The Logical Lizard:

"The recovery of meteorite specimens by commercial outfits has dramatically increased the amount of material available for study. This isn’t my viewpoint, it is a universally recognized fact."

“It’s a black market,” said Ralph P. Harvey, a geologist at Case Western Reserve University who directs the federal search for meteorites in Antarctica. “It’s as organized as any drug trade and just as illegal.”

RESPONSE
Not so! Every year in February the whole Meteorite Community descends on Tucson for two weeks.

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Fossil collecting fieldtrip ~ Hudson Valley Geologist

Fossil collecting fieldtrip ~ Hudson Valley Geologist:

"A 90 minute scenic drive up through the heart of the Catskills brought us to Gilboa - a locality famous to geologists around the world since it's the site of the first forest we have abundant fossils from in the Middle Devonian Period (~380 million years ago). There is an informative outdoor kiosk off County Route 990V next to the Gilboa Post Office which has some large fossils on display."

Unusual collecting question: Snorkeling for arrowhead points | Arrowheadology forum

Unusual collecting question: "wondering if anyone snorkels for points?"

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