G'day John & all,
That's certainly an interesting theory but I don't know either if that is
possible or not. I hope someone studying West will have the opportunity to
study this feature. I was having a think about this the other day
too. A couple of ideas I had were:
1) Possibly a reaction between something in the fusion crust (iron
component... magnetite?) and localised soil and/or vegetation. (i.e.
staining by acidic compounds?) This is just a thought which I don't know
virtually nothing about.
2) The second is obviously more like something that happened during passage
through the atmosphere. For example the silver sheen on magnetite crystals
is due to high luster on the crystal faces (reflectivness). In this case
could it be due to an abrasive ablation effect?
I bet there are MANY theories on this feature and I'd certainly be
interested to hear some.
Cheers,
Jeff
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Gwilliam" <j...@cox.net>
To: <mccart...@blackbearddata.com>; <meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 11:13 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Silver stuff on the West?
Here's an idea about the "silver" blotches on some of the West meteorites.
Could it be pure nickel? I don't know if it's possible for metallic
particles in meteorites to consist of mostly nickel. Are all iron/nickel
blebs a homogeneous mix of the two metals? The color of this "silver"
blotching looks a lot like matte nickel plating that is often found on
firearms and some plumbing fixtures.
Just a thought.
Best,
John
At 10:19 PM 3/19/2009, McCartney Taylor wrote:
I have found another specimen with a pronounced silver 'line'
http://outofabluesky.com/images/stories/stoneymeteorites/west15-1.jpg
I really don't know what to make of it. In this new piece, its like its a
silver blob that melted and oozed out of the tiny gash in the stone. I'm
disinclined now to a post fall chemical reaction. Do take note of the
oxidation effect the rain had on the stone.
There is another specimen with silver 'blotches' on this page, the 29.5g
piece.
http://outofabluesky.com/index.php?option=com_jportfolio&cat=4&project=46&Itemid=58
Any good theories out there?
-mt
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John Gwilliam
Too many people were born on third base
and go through life thinking they hit a triple.
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