After lightning struck a tree in a New Port Richey, Florida, neighborhood, a University of South Florida professor discovered the strike led to the formation of a new phosphorus material.
Matthew Pasek said it was found in a rock – the first time in NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - A Florida professor says the discovery of fossilized lightning led to the formation of a new material that's never before discovered until now.
After lightning struck a tree in a New Port Richey, Florida, neighborhood, geoscientist Matthew Pasek found the strike led to the formation of a new phosphorus material in a rock and could represent a member of a new mineral group. "We have never seen this material occur naturally on Earth – minerals similar to it can be found in meteorites and space, but we've never seen this exact material anywhere," Pasek said.
The University of South Florida professor recently published his study in Communications Earth & Environment. In it, he examines how high-energy events, such as lightning, can cause unique chemical reactions and result in a new material – one that is transitional between space minerals and minerals found on Earth."When lightning strikes a tree, the ground typically explodes out, and the surrounding grass dies, forming a scar and sending electric discharge through nearby rock, soil and sand, forming fulgurites, also known as ‘fossilized lightning’," Pasek said.