Hair Pele

Pele's hair (eng. Pele's hair — the hair of the goddess Pele, the lady of fire and strong wind in Hawaiian mythology ) is a filamentous (or capillary) form of lava in the form of fibers of volcanic glass.

Strands are formed from lava with a temperature of about 1160 °C by stretching the molten basalt fountains, streams, lopatov and bursts of lava, which cools rapidly in the air in the wind.

Have a Golden-yellow color, shining in the sun, similar to human hair or thin dry straw. Length varies considerably (extremely brittle), usually 5-15 cm (rarely up to 2 meters), diameter 0.5—2 mm. They are thin and lightweight, so the wind carries them long distances and are often deposited in cracks and depressions.

Fiber is very fragile, over time, the wind and the shaking destroyed and turned into sand and dust.

In 1840, the geologist James Dana described the hair of Pele at Kilauea volcano. In modern scientific literature this hairlike capillary in the form of lava has introduced in 1967 the American volcanologist Gordon MacDonald.

The production is created and used similar to the properties of basalt fiber or rock wool, and fiberglass and mineral wool are similar in structure.

Used as insulation and filtration materials.

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»