A lightning strike has produced a brand new phosphorus mineral, similar to that found on meteorites and in space.
The bolt created a chemical reaction in a rock, leading to what could be a member of a new mineral group, somewhere between space minerals and minerals found on Earth.
Similar materials have been found in meteorites and space but this is the first recorded instance of it being created on earth.
The find was made following the strike on a tree in New Port Richey, Florida, when a fulgurite, or fossilised lightning was sold by the landowners to a geoscientist who then had it analysed.
Fulgurites are formed by the high energy electrical discharge of lightning through rock, soil and sand.
The study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment came about after Prof Pasek teamed up with Luca Bindi, a professor of mineralogy and crystallography at the University of Florence in Italy.
Together, the team set out to investigate unusual minerals that bear the element phosphorus, especially those formed by lightning, to better understand high-energy phenomena.
In wet environments, such as in Florida, iron will often accumulate and encrust tree roots.
In this case, not only did the lightning strike combust the iron on the tree roots, but it combusted the naturally occurring carbon in the tree as well.
The two elements led to a chemical reaction that created a fulgurite that looked like a metal ‘glob.’
Inside the fulgurite, a colourful, crystal-like matter revealed a material never before discovered.
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