Desert glass

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Desert glass, Libyan desert glass (LDG), Edeowie glass, or great sand sea glass is a substance found in areas in the Libyan Desert, as well as in deserts in Africa and South Australia. Fragments of desert glass can be found over large areas, up to tens of kilometers.

Contents 1 Geologic origin 2 See also 3 References 4 Literature 5 External links

[edit] Geologic origin

The origin of the glass is a controversial issue for the scientific community, with many evolving theories. Meteoric origins for the glass were long suspected, but recent research linked the glass to impact mechanics, such as vaporized quartz and meteoric metals, and to an impact crater. Some geologists associate the glass not with impact melt ejecta, but with radiative melting from meteoric large aerial bursts. If that were the case, the glass would be analogous to trinitite, which is created from sand exposed to the thermal radiation of a fireball.

[edit] See also

• Tektite
• Tunguska event
• Kebira crater

[edit] References

[edit] Literature

• V. de Michele (ed.): Proceedings of the Silica '96 Meeting on Libyan Desert Glass and related desert events, Bologna, 1997 Contents
• P.A. Clayton / L.J. Spencer: Silica Glass from the Libyan Desert, Vortrag vom 09.11.1933 online

[edit] External links

• Google Scholar: "Desert Glass"
• Sahara Desert Glass/Tutankhamun's gem stone