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  Glass Structures  

There has been so much controversy over the fusion crust of my rock and the questions that revolve around its coming through the atmosphere and showing the proper amount of heating that I have decided to include this section on glass particles I have found near the outer surfaces of the rock. After taking a sample from near the surface of the rock, I began looking at all of the sand and debris that came out of the place where the sample was taken. Much to my surprise, I found a small piece of glass. It is flat on one side (the side that would have been the top) and on the other side, the volcanic portion of the rock has molded the glass to the exact shape of its container. This proves that the rock did get very hot after the sand was deposited, since the melting point of sand is over 1000 degrees, if I remember correctly. Since the glass is flat on one side, it lends more support to the hypothesis that this rock had a single orientation as it came through the atmosphere, since it would have probably been cooled by the time it hit the ground. Also, little pieces of rock and sand are melted in the glass, much like it was a tiny paperweight.

This first picture was taken with a halogen bulb, so the color is not true. The next picture was taken with natural light and shows a little dark on my screen.

Here you can see that the glass is clear, except for the particles that are imbedded within it. You can see some of the ridges from this view. You are looking at the bottom of the glass with the flat side away from you.

To me this is more proof that the volcanic structure of this rock is able to withstand a lot of heat. If sand melts at over 1000 degrees, then the volcanic portion must have a higher melting point than sand. If the sand was able to melt to a liquid and stay in the vesicle, the temperature must have gone over 1000 at this part of the rock for at least long enough to make the sand liquid. Since not all of the particles melted and some are melted within the glass, this little paperweight should tell us almost exactly what temperatures were encountered as this fell through the atmosphere.