As Mauna Loa erupts, Hawaii officials warn of ‘Pele’s Hair.’ What is it?

Sac Bee ^

[BenLurkin]

Pele’s Hair, a byproduct of volcano eruptions, are thin glass fibers “named after the volcanic deity Pele,” according to the National Park Service. Piles of the long, hair-like fibers can be found near volcanic summits in Hawaii. The fibers resemble “golden mats of hair,” the park service says on a page about the phenomena.

Strands of Pele’s Hair can stretch up to 2 feet in length but are less than a micron, or .001 millimeters, wide. They are light enough to be picked up and carried by the wind. Pele’s Hair can form mats up to several inches deep. The fragile mats are easily broken, but because they are glass, they can form slivers in the skin or eyes, the agency warned.

[Travis McGee]

Breathing volcanic dust is in the league with breathing asbestos dust.

[Ann Archy]

Actually looks worse!

[alexander_busek]

I’m guessing that’s the minimum width and not the average. It does make sense that it could form that small, since we are just talking about a glass made up of silicon molecules, while a red blood cell is a biological construct made up of much larger and complex molecules.

About 99% (by mass) of "Pele's Hair" has the approx. consistency and appearance of human hair (though it is much more brittle). That some miniscule proportion - probably consisting of segments less than 1 mm long - could have a width approaching the 1 micron mentioned in the article is plausible. But to flatly assert - as the article does - that "Pele's Hair" has a width of 1 micron is a gross misstatement and very misleading. RATHER, the figure of "1 micron" should have been characterized as an extreme lower limit.

My reference to RBCs was for size-comparison purposes, only.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not a geophysicist, nor a volcanologist, nor do I portray one on t.v.

Regards,

[George J. Jetso]

Mount Vesuvius. Those people that don’t learn from history are bound to repeat it.