Lybian Desert Glass

jesnbec73 · #1 2024-02-09, 12:40pm

I've been wanting to get a few pieces of that stuff ever since I heard about it, well two pieces, one to put up and one to you know... melt. LOL

Anybody here actually tried it, if so how did it go?

I assume it's similar to obsidian, but not quite as hard as quartz but I couldn't find any information on it in terms of melting temp etc. I've torched on some obsidian before and way back before I knew what I was doing I about cooked my eyeballs melting some quartz pieces. If it's ridiculously hard I have a hydrogen set up that can pretty much melt anything, but figured I'd ask my distinguished colleagues here.

ESC · #2 2024-02-09, 8:04pm

Is this the same as lightning forged glass?

jesnbec73 · #3 2024-02-10, 10:46am

Quote:

Originally Posted by ESC

Is this the same as lightning forged glass?

There's all sorts of theories going around about how this stuff was formed. Science says it was a meteor impact that caused miles and miles of desert to turn into a literal sheet of glass, but apparently there is no associated impact crater there. If you look at the ancient Hindu texts, apparently the gods had some kind of nuclear sounding war in that same area, which is totally weird but it's there. There's miles of the stuff though, it reminds me of vaseline glass. Seems like I heard or read somewhere it is slightly radioactive as well, but don't quote me on that.

KJohn · #4 2024-02-11, 3:57pm

hey here is some, not expensive so you can try it out. I don't see why it would be Hindu texts for Lybia, but yeah that could have happened during one of the prev extinction events.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1503551...n-desert-glass

KJohn · #5 2024-02-11, 4:06pm

Here I found this, looks like the latest studies do support a meteorite impact.

They are supposed to be almost pure silica. I'm sure things are added to our glass to make it easy to melt and manipulate, perhaps you could do that as well?

jesnbec73 · #6 2024-02-11, 8:35pm

Not even sure why, but I've always wanted to get a few pieces of it just to try it out, the HHO torch I have can pretty much melt anything but if it's pure silica it is going to be close to quartz in terms of melting temps.. ugh.

jesnbec73 · #7 2024-02-11, 10:40pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJohn

hey here is some, not expensive so you can try it out. I don't see why it would be Hindu texts for Lybia, but yeah that could have happened during one of the prev extinction events.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1503551...n-desert-glass

Damnit, now I had to buy a couple pieces... LOL Got two coming, supposedly. A larger one to put up and a smaller one to (insert disaster) with. I bet I'm going to have to wait until I get my torch upgrade to put a dent in that stuff if it's pure silica though. The HHO will melt it, but that's my small hand torch and doesn't want to work anything larger than about a nickel or so. Any of you guys have much experience with quartz? The only time I ever fooled with any, I darn near cooked my retinas out of my scull but this was way back before I knew anything about anything.

KJohn · #8 2024-02-12, 10:26am

nope, I have quartz I use for punties, that's about it. Of course with the prices nowadays, I would have gotten something else.

That little torch scares me LOL

jesnbec73 · #9 2024-02-12, 1:01pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJohn

nope, I have quartz I use for punties, that's about it. Of course with the prices nowadays, I would have gotten something else.

That little torch scares me LOL

Looks like a lot of folks use it for fuming and puntys, good lord you're right about it being expensive. I wonder how many years I knocked off my eyes trying to melt the little piece I had like an idiot. I've got to get some darker shades before I get too excited about the new torch anyways, but I'll keep you guys updated when I get the desert glass in, if nothing else maybe I will have an ultra-cool punty

(I swear I used to spell that puntil)

Three Muses Glass · #10 2024-02-12, 4:03pm

I'd never heard of it before so I did a little (very little) reading. The desert glass seems to be classified as a tektite, and then I remembered moldavite which ABR sells. It's supposedly compatible with Boro so...maybe not quartz level of difficulty? Good luck with your experiment! Sounds interesting.

KJohn · #11 2024-02-13, 10:07pm

Actually this looks like a decent price here. Fuming! yeah I got mine for punties and fuming, but I never got around to learning to fume so i had forgotten that. LOL Much better price than those scientific ones. yikes

jesnbec73 · #12 2024-08-15, 6:39pm

Forgot to update this thread... I finally got my Lybian Desert Glass, got one nice chunk and several small ones. Very cool looking stuff, it's cratered and looks like it has some small inclusions here and there. I'm debating on which torch to hit it with, I think I'm going to preheat it with my HHO hand torch and then punty up and try to work it in my Minor. I don't have the heart to melt the larger chunk, so I've only got a little less than dime sized piece or two to play with. I will definitely let you guys know it goes, seems wrong to be melting it, but this is coming from a guy who used to smash antiques for custard glass so who am I kidding LOL I'm hoping a rod of boro will punty up to it ok. I think it was Yellowbeard the Pirate who said 'Never trust a woman or a government.' to which I will add also, 'Never trust a Punty'. LOL

KJohn · #13 2024-08-17, 7:10pm

Well we need pics, before & after, some during if you can manage. Certainly a new project around here!

jesnbec73 · #14 2024-08-17, 8:58pm

Well, that was a bust. That stuff is pretty well impossible to melt. I can get quartz to melt with my Hydrogen set up, but whatever that stuff is made of is even harder than quartz. I got it so hot it lit up my entire studio and it didn't melt whatsoever. The only noticeable effect I had on it was that it went from a pale yellow color to an off-white color when it cooled. If any of you guys want to give it a shot, let me know and I'll send you one of the small pieces, but I didn't have much luck with it. I'm sure it will melt, but it's going to take a serious amount of heat. I can't even begin to imagine what would have produced miles and miles (6,500 kilometers) of that stuff, but good god, it must have been a hell of an event.

jesnbec73 · #15 2024-08-17, 9:40pm

Quote:

https://www.degruyter.com/document/d...9/html?lang=en
The estimated temperature of the LDG melts was above 2750 °C, approaching the point of SiO2 boiling. The variety of textures with different degrees of quenching immediately next to each other suggests an extreme thermal gradient that existed in LDG through radiation cooling. Additionally, the presence of quenched orthorhombic OII ZrO2 provides direct evidence of high-pressure (>13.5 GPa) conditions, confirming theory 2, the hypervelocity impact origin of the LDG.

That's about 5000F, which I'm pretty sure I'm hitting or at least approaching with my HHO setup and it didn't phase it, so I'm guessing I'd need something akin to God's Pressure Cooker along with a higher volume HHO torch to get this stuff to a working temperature. My dream of cute little Lybian Desert Glass Beads is sadly not to be, but holy crap man, something happened in the desert there that is completely unique on the entire planet and heated thousands of miles to the boiling point of Silicon and left behind the purest silicon deposits on earth... just wild.

rainygrrl · #16 2024-08-18, 2:45pm

Wow!! Too bad about your dream, but you’ve got a piece of something mysterious and amazing, with quite a story to tell! Thanks for the update.

KJohn · #17 2024-08-19, 5:17pm

Yeah really not well understood, yet but that is another mystery. Interesting experiment. Now I won't have to wonder.