Amazing Facts: Solid Lightning

We know that lightning can be both beautiful (when it's far enough away) and dangerous (when it's up close). If lightning strikes a house or a tree, it may burn. If lightning strikes a living creature, it may kill. But if lightning strikes a piece of rock with a lot of the element silica in it or an area of sand (which is even higher in silica), its tremendous heat can melt the silica into a solid piece of material called a fulgurite (FUL-gyu-rite). People have found fulgurites 2 inches across and 40 feet long. Silica melts at a temperature of about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, so that gives us good idea of the lightning's power. It is more fun to find a fulgurite than to be one.

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