I know lightning strikes ionise the air, but I'm looking into geology, specifically amethyst, and found that it gets its colour partially from trivalent iron, iron(III), Fe 3+, whatever you want to call it. Normally this happens by radiation during the formation of the amethyst, but I'm curious if a silica crystal with trace amounts of normal iron could be struck by lightning to ionise it and remove the additional electrons, thereby finalising the creation of amethyst, or am I missing some details about lightning and/or amethyst?
1 Answer
There are Fulgurites.
Fulgurites are formed when lightning strikes the ground, fusing and vitrifying mineral grains.