Lightning struck a tree in New Port Richey, Florida, resulting in the formation of phosphide material unique to the space environment. Reported by the University of South Florida.
“When lightning strikes a tree, often the ground explodes and the surrounding grass dies, creating a lightning trail and sending electrical discharges to nearby rocks, soil and sand to form fulgurites, also known as ‘petrified lightning’,” said geologist Matthew Pasek. . One of these fulgurites was found by Florida residents and sold to scientists for research.
In humid environments like Florida, iron often accumulates and coats the roots of trees. In this case, the lightning strike not only burned the iron in the roots of the tree, but also burned the carbon in the wood. The two elements reacted when heated, resulting in the formation of fulgurite, similar to a metal ball.
Pasek and colleagues discovered Inside the fulgurite from New Port Richey, a material of the calcium phosphite group that has never been found on Earth before – its counterparts have only been found in meteorites and in space. They tried to recreate this material in the laboratory using strong electrical discharges, but the experiment failed – it probably only forms under strictly defined conditions. What makes calcium phosphite unique is the oxidation state of phosphorus, which is an intermediate between the oxidation state of phosphites and phosphates in terrestrial minerals. At the same time, prolonged heating of the discovered mineral is likely to convert it to that found in meteorites on Earth.
The study’s authors believe that lightning-induced reactions similar to phosphite formation played an important role on early Earth and may have influenced the origin of life.
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