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Related: About this forumDangerous, Golden 'Hair' Sprouts from Hawaii Volcano
By Laura Geggel, Senior Writer | June 14, 2018 04:57 pm ET
- click for image -
https://img.purch.com/h/1400/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saXZlc2NpZW5jZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzEwMC8yMjgvb3JpZ2luYWwvUGVsZXMtSGFpci1OTy1SRVVTRS5qcGc=
This hair-like material actually consists of fine strands of volcanic glass known as Pele's hair that came from lava within Kilauea volcano, in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Credit: Alamy
Golden, sharp strands of so-called goddess hair are covering parts of Hawaii's Big Island. But what are these potentially dangerous threads called Pele's hair and where did they come from?
The mats of Pele's hair a product of the ongoing eruption from Kilauea volcano consist of thin glass fibers that form when gas bubbles within lava burst at the lava's surface, said Don Swanson, a research geologist at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
"The skin of the bursting bubbles flies out, and some of the skin becomes stretched into these very long threads, sometime[s] as long as a couple of feet [0.6 meters] or so," Swanson told Live Science. [Photos: Fiery Lava from Kilauea Volcano Erupts on Hawaii's Big Island]
These gossamer strands are thin, just a micron (one-thousandth of a millimeter) or two in diameter, although some of them are coarser. "Often, they are really like human hair, so the name is very apt," Swanson said.
More:
https://www.livescience.com/62826-peles-hair-lava-glass.html?utm_source=ls-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20180615-ls
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Dangerous, Golden 'Hair' Sprouts from Hawaii Volcano (Original Post)
Judi Lynn
Jun 2018
OP
radical noodle
(8,020 posts)1. Someone has to say it...
It looks a bit like Trump's hair.
Thanks Judi Lynn! I never knew about this part of volcanic activity. Nature is amazing.
Blue Owl
(50,603 posts)8. Factor in the sulfuric odor and the resemblance is uncanny!
n/t
svpadgham
(670 posts)2. I learned about Pele's hair on Reading Rainbow.
This was over 30 years ago. I loved me some Lavar Burton!
cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)4. I love me some Judi Lynn
for her wonderful scientific posts!
Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)6. I'll chime in on that!
I am reading your posts every day, JudiLynn...thank you!
flying rabbit
(4,648 posts)7. Yup!
tblue37
(65,556 posts)3. K&R. nt