Captured lightning: The artist who traps "fossilised" bolts of electricity inside acrylic blocks

These stunning - literally - sculptures were made by blasting a block of acrylic with a 5million volt particle accelerator.

'Captured Lightning': A Lichtenberg Figure sculpture created when  Bert Hickman used a 5million-volt particle accelerator on a block  of acrylic.

The effect on the material is as if a lightning flash has been frozen in time, a process that sculptor Bert Hickman calls 'Captured Lightning'.

And while a straightforward Lichtenberg figure is impressive enough, Bert and physicist friend Todd Johnson have managed to create eye-popping works in the shape of stars, butterflies, an oak tree and even the Yin Yang symbol.

Here comes the science bit.