![]() ![]() I've analyzed iron furnace slag from several sources here in Southeast Pennsylvania, and all require magnification to see micron-sized metallic-iron spherules in thin glassy chip sections with strong back lighting, whereas these metallic-iron blebs appear to be centimeter sized. I think the scientific community is overly cautious and unimaginative in assuming all slag is man made. Not what a person would think of as being slag. It kind of “chunked” off like it was brittle but it was not. It would not cut easy with a dermal cutting wheel. There was little to no granular structure and it could be describes as being kind of resinous. As I cut into the material I was surprised to see the characteristics. Some were about the size of a small microwave and too heavy to carry. So sorry Chris B, I don’t believe they are meteorites but it is possible they could contain high grade ore of some sort.Īll in all we found around 10 items. I can’t say why they have iron and metal showing but maybe the process used in those days were not as efficient as one might think. A by-product of the early mining days here in Colorado Springs. They are probably some sort of high grade slag. Had me worried there for a couple of minutes. So two of the seven tests fail, there is bubbles and it will leave a streak, again probably not extra-terrestrial. Answer- Well kind of, some of it will and some of it will not. If it leaves a streak, it probably isn't a meteorite. Answer- Yes there is some holes in the material.ħ.ĝoes the rock have a streak? Test for streak by rubbing the rock on unglazed porcelain such as the back of a tile. ![]() Answer- yes I see three metallic flakes in the small window I made.Ħ.ĝoes your rock have bubble holes (vesicles)? Most meteorites don't have vesicles. A plain and featureless texture suggests that it's just another Earthly meteor-wrong, but if you can see small, bright flakes of shiny metal mixed within the stone, it probably is a meteorite. Meteorites are tough, so you may need some elbow grease and lots of patience here! Wipe off the dust from the ground-off area and look inside the rock. Answer- Yes it is much heavier than water.ĥ.ĝoes the rock pass the window test. Answer- Yes there is metal showing and if I had to describe it I would use the words, “looks like Silver”.Ĥ.ĝoes the rock feel heavy compared to other rocks about the same size? Stony meteorites usually have a density from 3 to 4 times the density of fresh water. Native iron is extremely rare in natural earth rocks. Answer- Yes magnetic.ģ.ĝoes the rock have native iron? Native iron is shiny metal bright and looks like untarnished silver when it is exposed. Is the rock magnetic? Iron meteorites strongly attract a magnet, stony meteorites have a slight attraction. Answer- Yes, there are several areas that could be called fusion crust.Ģ. “Many different types of meteorites, this material would best fit the Stony-Iron type.”ġ.ĝoes the rock have a fusion crust? “Fusion Crust can be dark brown to fresh black, and glassy”. “Credit Utah’s Department of Natural Resources Geological Survey and other on-line resources”. So I tried the Meteorite or Meteorwrong test. Often the easiest way to determine what an item is, is by proving what it is not. We went to the local creek where quickly we found several other specimens, again a suggestive indicator they were slag. However I could not give a definitive answer one way or the other and I could not rule out with 100% certainty they were not a naturally occurring rock. Upon viewing them I was 95% certain they were not meteorites and was about 75% certain they were slag of some sorts. This intrigued me and I headed over to check out his finds. He said they were full of metal and kind of resembled what one might think of as being a meteorite. ![]() A buddy asked me to help him identify some hefty rock samples he was finding. ![]()
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