Stalactite

A stalactite is suspended from the ceiling of a cave stalagmite. Its counterpart is the up growing from the ground stalagmite. Both names are derived from the ancient Greek στάλαγμα (synonymous with σταλαγμός, "drop " ) from.

Like all limestone formations created the stalactite when carbonated water penetrates into the rock and caused deposited by the surface tension on the ceiling of a cavity calcite. The resulting material is called sintering. Always occurs due to a drop of the surface configuration at the exact same point of the deposit can form the shape of a ring with a diameter of the droplet size. This formation can grow into a sintered tube, also called macaroni.

A stalactite arises from the fact that drops no longer run on the inside of the tube, but on its outer side and deposited calcite - the thickness growth has begun. During the inspection of the stalactites soda straws inside can often be detected.

There are also rare forms where a stalactite grows without prior soda straws, here the surface shape of the cave ceiling plays a decisive role in ensuring that the thickness growth begins without a lead structure.

The size of a stalactite is limited by its own weight, which eventually pulls him from the ceiling. A stalactite is always much leaner than a stalagmite on the floor. Grows the stalactite finally together with the stalagmite, a stalagmite, Stalagnat is called. The largest, with more than seven meters previously discovered stalactite in Europe is in the Doolin Cave in County Clare, Ireland. He was discovered in the 1950s by two adventurous and opened to the public in 2006.

Stalactite and stalagmite other shapes can also be formed on older buildings, when calcium is released from cement or concrete and then use the carbon dioxide in the air reacts (description and experiments see literature).