Most often, lightning strikes tall structures and trees, but wet sand and rocks also do not pass by.
Fulgurites (English Fulgurite) - hollow tubes in the sand, consisting of remelted silica, and melted surfaces on the images of rocks, formed under the action of a lightning discharge. Their inner surface is smooth and melted, and the outer one is formed by grains of sand and foreign inclusions adhering to the melted mass. The diameter of the tubular fulgurite is no more than a few centimeters, the length can be up to several meters, there have been individual finds of fulgurites 5-6 meters long.
The appearance of a glass tube in the sand during a lightning discharge is due to the fact that there is always air and moisture between the grains of sand. The lightning electric current in a split second heats air and water vapor to enormous temperatures, causing an explosive increase in air pressure between grains of sand and its expansion. The expanding air forms a cylindrical cavity inside the molten sand, and subsequent rapid cooling fixes the fulgurite, a glass tube in the sand.
Fulgurite, often carefully dug out of the sand, resembles a tree root or a branch with numerous branches. These branched fulgurites are formed when a lightning strike hits wet sand, which is known to have a higher electrical conductivity than dry sand. In these cases, the lightning current, entering the soil, immediately begins to spread to the sides, forming a structure similar to the root of a tree, and the fulgurite that is born in this case only repeats this shape.
The longest of the excavated fulgurites went underground to a depth of more than five meters. Fulgurites are also called fusion of solid rocks formed by a lightning strike; they are sometimes found in large numbers on the rocky peaks of the mountains.
Promotional video:
This is what a house looks like if lightning hits it:
This is how the car looks after a lightning strike:
And the favorite targets of lightning are trees:
When lightning strikes the sea:
And a few more photos of well-aimed lightning strikes: