THIRTY-FOOT THUNDER-BOLTS

Western Star, 10 February 1922, Page 4

THIRTY-FOOT THUNDER-BOLTS

Meteorites may be seen in almost every museum. These are masses of stone which have fallen from the sky. But they have nothing whatever to do with thunder or ( lightning. They are ntarely pieces of some smashed-up planet or comet which, whirling through space, have been caught in tln> net of the earth’s atmosphere. " In'some museums you will find curious objects which rceemble fossilised tree branches: They seem to be inade of a glassy substance, • and usually are hollow. Often they arc hard yiiough to scratch glass. These are called “ fulgurites.”

bulgur” io the Latin word for lightning, and’so they mpy bo justly termed “ thunder-bolts. 1 ' AYhen a flash of lightning strikes a sandy soil, the heat liberated; is so intense that it fuses tbe sand, converting it instantly into 1 a sort of obsidian or glass. * The size of the fulaunte depends upon the force > f the lightning stroke and the quality or the soil. The largest ever discovered have been dug v.p jlf- »th? Sahara Desert. Some are nearly fib feet long and J inches, in diameter. Bin usually they do not- exceed 10fl’. in length aud 1-in. in thickness, while many arc no thicker than a lead pencil.