volcanic glass

noun

: natural glass produced by the cooling of molten lava too rapidly to permit crystallization

Examples of volcanic glass in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And the same layers of sediment contained rocks with tiny fragments of volcanic glass, suggesting people lived there both before and after the blast in Indonesia, writes CNN’s Katie Hunt. —Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024

Microscopic fragments of volcanic glass found alongside stone tools and animal remains near Ethiopia’s Shinfa River showed how humans survived — and adapted — after the eruption. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 23 Mar. 2024

The geochemical fingerprint of the cliff’s volcanic glass has been found all around the West, as well as in Canada. —Jim Robbins, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2023

Remember that volcanic ash is pulverized pieces of volcanic glass and(or) rock, so getting that in your lungs is never good. —Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 4 Dec. 2023

The clays are being made by the breakdown of volcanic glass and minerals in the caldera, but then they get enriched in lithium due to hydrothermal alteration -- the process where heated fluids can add or remove elements. —Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 20 Sep. 2023

Thousands watch Hawaii's erupting Kilauea volcano With the volcano erupting, the primary concerns are volcanic gas and delicate strands of volcanic glass – called Pele’s hair – that can float downwind, according to the agency. —Melissa Alonso, CNN, 11 Sep. 2023

Plus, a combination of volcanic gas, fine ash and Pele’s Hair – which are strands of volcanic glass – could be carried downwind, the geological survey said. —Aya Elamroussi, CNN, 2 Dec. 2022

Volcanic ash is made of volcanic glass, crystals and rock fragments. —Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 27 July 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1780, in the meaning defined above