Fulgurita Lechaterielita
Fulgurita is a mineral with formula SiO₂, in the Silicatos group. This specimen comes from Níger and joined the Terrium collection in 1980.
Description
Elongate, hollow, highly ramified tubular fragment, with a rough surface and vitrified sandy texture. A matt greyish tone predominates, with lighter beige areas. The morphology preserves the shape of the lightning channel, with solidified protuberances and spiny nodules along the entire structure.
History of this specimen
I got it from the numbered collection of a Swiss collector from Geneva who began assembling pieces in the late 1950s and died c. 2017. The piece retains the old number "1458", kept as part of its lineage.
About Fulgurita
It is not a mineral, but a natural silica glass formed by the impact of lightning on quartz or very pure silica sand. Its hollow tubular form with small branches is due to melting and rapid solidification of the material.
About the locality
Fulgurites from Niger are noted for their extent and marked branching, formed in desert areas with very pure, quartz-rich sands. Intense electrical discharges favour the formation of long, irregular and well-defined tubes.
Technical data
- Catalogue No.
- 0272
- Composition
- SiO₂
- Name
- Fulgurita
- Variety
- Lechaterielita
- Group
- Silicatos
- Category
- Estélites
- Country
- Níger
- Size (cm)
- 16.5 x 3.5 x 2.5
- Weight
- 35.8 g
- Acquired
- 1980
- Ex-collection
- Coleccionista de Ginebra (sin identificar)
- Etymology
- Named in honour of the French chemist Henry Louis Le Chatelier.
- Quality
- Muy buena
- Value trend
- Estable
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