|
I bought a small Tektite at a rock shop a few weeks ago.? I am not a rock collector, but I had read about Tektites and this one intrigued me because it was so darkly colored.? The rock shop had a drawer of them labeled “China Tektites”.? It weighs about 10g, SG of 2.4.? It is very slightly radioactive (detectable with scaler and pancake, but not by ear).
?
Doing a little research, I believe it is an Indochinite based on its appearance and the fact they are very common, and many similar ones are for sale on ebay.? Apparently, people have been pulling them out of their farm fields and rice paddies for years in S. China and Vietnam.? They pile them up to be sold to brokers, and then resold to rock shops, and finally to crazy people.
?
Indochinites are one of a variety of Tektites associated with the largest and youngest Tektite strewnfield on Earth, the Australasian Strewnfield.? According to Wikipedia, it covers 10 to 30% of the Earth’s surface and has been dated to 788,000 years ago.?? Despite the relative youth and large size of this strewnfield, the location of the source crater has not yet been found.? This makes it a bit of a mystery among those in this scientific specialty.
?
Metallic Iron is rarely found in surface or crustal rocks, if you do find some, it is usually some man-made artifact.? If it is an Fe/Ni metal alloy (in the range of 5-25% Ni), you have found an iron meteorite.? If it is a stone containing Fe/Mg/Si/Ni spheroids (chondrules) it is a Chondritic meteorite.?
?
Tektites are formed from local material that is melted and blasted into the upper atmosphere by a meteorite impact.? Any meteoric material will be greatly diluted by the terrestrial material in the blast melt.? Some Australasian Tektites are known to be relatively Nickel rich (.04%), but it has been a subject of debate whether this Ni content has a significant chrondritic (extraterrestrial) origin or not.? Some of the links (abstracts only) below take one side or the other of the argument. ??I was curious about this.? The Ni component is much lower, probably about 2 orders of magnitude, from my earlier XRF work with Iron meteorites.? I was concerned about Ni interference from my Am241 buttons with my set-up.? So, I asked Charles Young if he would run XRF on the Tektite to see if any Ni could be detected.
?
Charles did find both Fe and Ni, and the ratio looks very similar to scans of iron meteorites that I did a few years back.? However, if the experts can’t decide if such Ni is from here or there, I am unlikely to prove it one way or the other.?
Comment? Suggestions? Any ideas how we to pursue this further?
?
?
|
Possibly?painted Chinese healing stone . Zinc is found in black paints Try seeing if you scrape any top layer See under a microscope if possible to give a more detailed view?
On Saturday, July 27, 2024, 11:41 PM, Mike L. <loughlin3@...> wrote:
I bought a small Tektite at a rock shop a few weeks ago.? I am not a rock collector, but I had read about Tektites and this one intrigued me because it was so darkly colored.? The rock shop had a drawer of them labeled “China Tektites”.? It weighs about 10g, SG of 2.4.? It is very slightly radioactive (detectable with scaler and pancake, but not by ear).
?
Doing a little research, I believe it is an Indochinite based on its appearance and the fact they are very common, and many similar ones are for sale on ebay.? Apparently, people have been pulling them out of their farm fields and rice paddies for years in S. China and Vietnam.? They pile them up to be sold to brokers, and then resold to rock shops, and finally to crazy people.
?
Indochinites are one of a variety of Tektites associated with the largest and youngest Tektite strewnfield on Earth, the Australasian Strewnfield.? According to Wikipedia, it covers 10 to 30% of the Earth’s surface and has been dated to 788,000 years ago.?? Despite the relative youth and large size of this strewnfield, the location of the source crater has not yet been found.? This makes it a bit of a mystery among those in this scientific specialty.
?
Metallic Iron is rarely found in surface or crustal rocks, if you do find some, it is usually some man-made artifact.? If it is an Fe/Ni metal alloy (in the range of 5-25% Ni), you have found an iron meteorite.? If it is a stone containing Fe/Ni metal spheroids (chondrules) it is a Chondritic meteorite.?
?
Tektites are formed from local material that is melted and blasted into the upper atmosphere by a meteorite impact.? Any meteoric material will be greatly diluted by the terrestrial material in the blast melt.? Some Australasian Tektites are known to be relatively Nickel rich (.04%), but it has been a subject of debate whether this Ni content has a significant chrondritic (extraterrestrial) origin or not.? Some of the links (abstracts only) below take one side or the other of the argument. ??I was curious about this.? The Ni component is much lower, probably about 2 orders of magnitude, from my earlier XRF work with Iron meteorites.? I was concerned about Ni interference from my Am241 buttons with my set-up.? So, I asked Charles Young if he would run XRF on the Tektite to see if any Ni could be detected.
?
Charles did find both Fe and Ni, and the ratio looks very similar to scans of iron meteorites that I did a few years back.? However, if the experts can’t decide if such Ni is from here or there, I am unlikely to prove it one way or the other.?
Comment? Suggestions? Any ideas how we to pursue this further?
?
?
|
https://youtu.be/QNMLwrHnx6k?si=oklAqpp-5TTzUx7I It is sold as pendants? Some are really cheap and possibly fake. To make it look black and glossy paintwork cannot be ruled out in the Chinese market.
On Sunday, July 28, 2024, 11:19 PM, taray singh via groups.io <sukhjez@...> wrote:
Possibly?painted Chinese healing stone . Zinc is found in black paints Try seeing if you scrape any top layer See under a microscope if possible to give a more detailed view?
On Saturday, July 27, 2024, 11:41 PM, Mike L. <loughlin3@...> wrote:
I bought a small Tektite at a rock shop a few weeks ago.? I am not a rock collector, but I had read about Tektites and this one intrigued me because it was so darkly colored.? The rock shop had a drawer of them labeled “China Tektites”.? It weighs about 10g, SG of 2.4.? It is very slightly radioactive (detectable with scaler and pancake, but not by ear).
?
Doing a little research, I believe it is an Indochinite based on its appearance and the fact they are very common, and many similar ones are for sale on ebay.? Apparently, people have been pulling them out of their farm fields and rice paddies for years in S. China and Vietnam.? They pile them up to be sold to brokers, and then resold to rock shops, and finally to crazy people.
?
Indochinites are one of a variety of Tektites associated with the largest and youngest Tektite strewnfield on Earth, the Australasian Strewnfield.? According to Wikipedia, it covers 10 to 30% of the Earth’s surface and has been dated to 788,000 years ago.?? Despite the relative youth and large size of this strewnfield, the location of the source crater has not yet been found.? This makes it a bit of a mystery among those in this scientific specialty.
?
Metallic Iron is rarely found in surface or crustal rocks, if you do find some, it is usually some man-made artifact.? If it is an Fe/Ni metal alloy (in the range of 5-25% Ni), you have found an iron meteorite.? If it is a stone containing Fe/Ni metal spheroids (chondrules) it is a Chondritic meteorite.?
?
Tektites are formed from local material that is melted and blasted into the upper atmosphere by a meteorite impact.? Any meteoric material will be greatly diluted by the terrestrial material in the blast melt.? Some Australasian Tektites are known to be relatively Nickel rich (.04%), but it has been a subject of debate whether this Ni content has a significant chrondritic (extraterrestrial) origin or not.? Some of the links (abstracts only) below take one side or the other of the argument. ??I was curious about this.? The Ni component is much lower, probably about 2 orders of magnitude, from my earlier XRF work with Iron meteorites.? I was concerned about Ni interference from my Am241 buttons with my set-up.? So, I asked Charles Young if he would run XRF on the Tektite to see if any Ni could be detected.
?
Charles did find both Fe and Ni, and the ratio looks very similar to scans of iron meteorites that I did a few years back.? However, if the experts can’t decide if such Ni is from here or there, I am unlikely to prove it one way or the other.?
Comment? Suggestions? Any ideas how we to pursue this further?
?
?
|
I’m surprised at seeing
Ag and Te that sucker must have hit an ore body.
Dud
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mike L.
Sent: Saturday, July 27, 2024 8:42
AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [XRF-Page-2] Nickel in
Indochinite Tektites, from here or there?
?
I bought a small
Tektite at a rock shop a few weeks ago.? I
am not a rock collector, but I had read about Tektites and this one intrigued
me because it was so darkly colored.? The
rock shop had a drawer of them labeled “China Tektites”.? It weighs about 10g, SG of 2.4.? It is very slightly radioactive (detectable
with scaler and pancake, but not by ear).
?
Doing a little
research, I believe it is an Indochinite based on its appearance and the fact
they are very common, and many similar ones are for sale on ebay.? Apparently, people have been pulling them out
of their farm fields and rice paddies for years in S. China and Vietnam.? They pile them up to be sold to brokers, and
then resold to rock shops, and finally to crazy people.
?
Indochinites are
one of a variety of Tektites associated with the largest and youngest Tektite
strewnfield on Earth, the Australasian Strewnfield.? According to Wikipedia, it covers 10 to 30%
of the Earth’s surface and has been dated to 788,000 years ago.?? Despite the relative youth and large size of
this strewnfield, the location of the source crater has not yet been
found.? This makes it a bit of a mystery
among those in this scientific specialty.
?
Metallic Iron is
rarely found in surface or crustal rocks, if you do find some, it is usually
some man-made artifact.? If it is an
Fe/Ni metal alloy (in the range of 5-25% Ni), you have found an iron
meteorite.? If it is a stone containing
Fe/Ni metal spheroids (chondrules) it is a Chondritic meteorite?
?
Tektites are
formed from local material that is melted and blasted into the upper atmosphere
by a meteorite impact.? Any meteoric
material will be greatly diluted by the terrestrial material in the blast
melt.? Some Australasian Tektites are known to be relatively Nickel rich
(.04%), but it has been a subject of debate whether this Ni content has a
significant chrondritic (extraterrestrial) origin or not.? Some of the links (abstracts only) below take
one side or the other of the argument.??
I was curious about this.? The Ni
component is much lower, probably about 2 orders of magnitude, from my earlier
XRF work with Iron meteorites.? I was
concerned about Ni interference from my Am241 buttons with my set-up.? So, I asked Charles Young if he would run XRF
on the Tektite to see if any Ni could be detected.
?
Charles did find
both Fe and Ni, and the ratio looks very similar to scans of iron meteorites
that I did a few years back.? However, if
the experts can’t decide if such Ni is from here or there, I am unlikely to
prove it one way or the other.?
Comment?
Suggestions? Any ideas how we to pursue this further?
?
?
|
Taray,? Thanks for the interesting Video link.? I am pretty sure This specimen is not painted. ?I suppose anything can be faked, but there are many reasons that lead me to believe this one is legit:
?
- ?It came from a knowledgeable, reputable dealer, “Dave’s Down to Earth Rock Shop” in Evanston, IL.? No of of claims healing, telepathy, enhanced communication with otherworldly realms, spiritual growth, reduced tooth decay, or increased fertility was made.
- This particular Tektite had a shape (tear drop) and physical features that are characteristic of a liquid, or semi-solid material that had achieved some relatively stable orientation in flight.? One side of the Tektite, presumably the high pressure bottom side, has flow lines and smoothing characteristic of aerodynamic shaping.? The other side, presumably the low pressure top side, is covered with bubbles.? Dr. Wilson describes these physical characteristics very well in your Video.
- Indochinite Tektites are the most common type and probably not worth faking.? I paid less than $1.00/g. ?Libyan Glass, is worth much more and would much easier to fake. ?Lunar Tektites are worth 100 or 150 times an Indochinite.? A Price list link is below
|
Link to Rock Shop I mentioned.? Loved this place.? They had a large sauropod leg bone in the basement that had my squawker/scintillator? singing very happily.
?
?
Mike L.
|
Hi Dud,
?
I asked Charles Young about those lines.? He said they were artifacts of his test set up.? Lead also.
?
Mike L.
|
I though the Ag and Te
were in your XRF as well. Charles can’t see Ag due to the Rh tube anode but he’s
showing Te. Where’s the Te coming from?
Dud
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mike L.
Sent: Sunday, July 28, 2024 2:08
PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [XRF-Page-2] Nickel
in Indochinite Tektites, from here or there?
?
I asked Charles Young about those lines.? He said they were
artifacts of his test set up.? Lead also.
|
Dud,
?
Great question!? The spectrum I attached was just for reference.? It was not from the Tektite, but a Canyon Diablo (Barringer Crater, AZ) Iron Meteorite.? Looking at some other XRF spectrums using my Am241 exciter, Ni shows just a tiny bit, but no Te or Ag.? Is this from the specimen?? Do meteorites contain Ag or Te?? Pretty dang interesting question relative to this Tektite.? I'll do some research and also see what Charles has to say.
?
Mike
|
Mike Thanks for the update. Systemic peaks can be misleading? Will get one online for comparison?
On Monday, July 29, 2024, 6:41 AM, Mike L. <loughlin3@...> wrote: Dud,
?
Great question!? The spectrum I attached was just for reference.? It was not from the Tektite, but a Canyon Diablo (Barringer Crater, AZ) Iron Meteorite.? Looking at some other XRF spectrums using my Am241 exciter, Ni shows just a tiny bit, but no Te or Ag.? Is this from the specimen?? Do meteorites contain Ag or Te?? Pretty dang interesting question relative to this Tektite.? I'll do some research and also see what Charles has to say.
?
Mike
|
Taray,
?
Yes. Please.?
Thanks,
?
Mike L.
|
Mike Ordered the pendant version 2 days ago Should be getting it soon BTW I have previously seen “tellurium” in??some??of my xray spectrums??which I could not??explain? ?This is possibly an overlapping peak from a strong wide xray beam? Now my beam being narrow ,I don’t see it anymore See if peaks adds up ?
On Monday, July 29, 2024, 10:49 AM, Mike L. <loughlin3@...> wrote: Taray,
?
Yes. Please.?
Thanks,
?
Mike L.
|
Yes,
?
I got excited when Dud spotted Te in both my Am241 meteorite spectrum and Charles X-ray spectrum of the Tektite.? But then I looked at several Am241 scans, and it is often there.? Ref msg 214.? I superimposed spectrums of water, aluminum, and copper.? I was studying Compton and Raleigh scattering. All three scans appeared to show something around? 27 keV (i.e. "Te") with an equal peak. It has to be some kind of systemic error with Am241.?
?
Similarly, the Ag line is pretty weak in the Am241 meteorite scan and buried in anode noise with the Tektite scan.? Probably not much I can do there.
?
I'm going to think about it for a while.? I look forward to what you can do with the pendant.
?
Mike L.
?
?
?
?
|
Mike Here is my China tektite? Light weight and looks quite flat Very weakly magnetic if tested with a neodymium magnet and digital weighing scale Not magnetic to pancake probe Xrf wise it is similar to your sample minus systemic peaks No Te or Ag Fe with no Ni? What type of chinese terrestrial rock of hit by the meteor? Pic and mca to follow next Partly broken when attempting to remove from pendant attachment?
On Wednesday, July 31, 2024, 4:44 AM, Mike L. <loughlin3@...> wrote: Yes,
?
I got excited when Dud spotted Te in both my Am241 meteorite spectrum and Charles X-ray spectrum of the Tektite.? But then I looked at several Am241 scans, and it is often there.? Ref msg 214.? I superimposed spectrums of water, aluminum, and copper.? I was studying Compton and Raleigh scattering. All three scans appeared to show something around? 27 keV (i.e. "Te") with an equal peak. It has to be some kind of systemic error with Am241.?
?
Similarly, the Ag line is pretty weak in the Am241 meteorite scan and buried in anode noise with the Tektite scan.? Probably not much I can do there.
?
I'm going to think about it for a while.? I look forward to what you can do with the pendant.
?
Mike L.
?
?
?
?
|
|
|
What type of chinese terrestrial rock was?hit by the meteor?From the video ,answer is granite
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Friday, August 2, 2024, 9:01 PM, taray singh via groups.io <sukhjez@...> wrote:
|
Taray,
?
They have not yet identified an impact site yet for these Tektites.? I do not have much knowledge of Geology or Geochemistry, but within the abstacts I provided, (see original post), the term "mafic" keeps coming up.? I believe this means basalt instead of granite.
?
If you have a scale that can weigh the Tektite to within 2 or 3 digits accuracy, use this easy procedure below to calculate specific gravity.? Mine was 2.4.
?
?
Charles tested my Tektite with a magnet.? He says he doesn't think there was any attraction.
?
Your spectrum is very interesting in that it has fewer lines and it does not have that huge hump near barium Ka1 compared to mine (as performed by Charles Young).? The hump looks like Compton Scatter to me.? Are you using a shield of any sort?? I think some of my Tektites lines (Pb, Cu?) are from Charles shield, but I believe the Ni is real.
?
Mike L.
|
Mike Typo for pancake probe meant for radioactivity. ?I checked SG with my??pocket digital scale ,thread and beaker of water? Putting a thread was not a problem since there is already a small hole meant for pendants? Done it before in this forum SG??is 2.40 lke yours Regarding magnetic it is very subtle??if present. My meteorite specimen sticks loosely to a strong Nd magnet This tektite doesn’t at all Try using a sensitive pocket digital scale and Nd magnet instead? My digital scale attracts magnets? ?By a slight modification placing tektite on a light tall plastic sitting on the scale solves the problem? It is very faintly magnetic??from my analysis?
On Saturday, August 3, 2024, 8:08 AM, Mike L. <loughlin3@...> wrote: Taray,
?
They have not yet identified an impact site yet for these Tektites.? I do not have much knowledge of Geology or Geochemistry, but within the abstacts I provided, (see original post), the term "mafic" keeps coming up.? I believe this means basalt instead of granite.
?
If you have a scale that can weigh the Tektite to within 2 or 3 digits accuracy, use this easy procedure below to calculate specific gravity.? Mine was 2.4.
?
?
Charles tested my Tektite with a magnet.? He says he doesn't think there was any attraction.
?
Your spectrum is very interesting in that it has fewer lines and it does not have that huge hump near barium Ka1 compared to mine (as performed by Charles Young).? The hump looks like Compton Scatter to me.? Are you using a shield of any sort?? I think some of my Tektites lines (Pb, Cu?) are from Charles shield, but I believe the Ni is real.
?
Mike L.
|
Are you using a shield of any sort? Yes My lead scatter is very minimal? I place a graded shield of Fe and Al where risk of scatter is max Since my beam is narrow,my sample/sensor is a good distance away minimizing systemic peaks I also place a small??secondary collimator window at the probe end? This helps to minimize Ni to a large extent?
On Saturday, August 3, 2024, 10:35 AM, taray singh via groups.io <sukhjez@...> wrote:
Mike Typo for pancake probe meant for radioactivity. ?I checked SG with my??pocket digital scale ,thread and beaker of water? Putting a thread was not a problem since there is already a small hole meant for pendants? Done it before in this forum SG??is 2.40 lke yours Regarding magnetic it is very subtle??if present. My meteorite specimen sticks loosely to a strong Nd magnet This tektite doesn’t at all Try using a sensitive pocket digital scale and Nd magnet instead? My digital scale attracts magnets? ?By a slight modification placing tektite on a light tall plastic sitting on the scale solves the problem? It is very faintly magnetic??from my analysis?
On Saturday, August 3, 2024, 8:08 AM, Mike L. <loughlin3@...> wrote: Taray,
?
They have not yet identified an impact site yet for these Tektites.? I do not have much knowledge of Geology or Geochemistry, but within the abstacts I provided, (see original post), the term "mafic" keeps coming up.? I believe this means basalt instead of granite.
?
If you have a scale that can weigh the Tektite to within 2 or 3 digits accuracy, use this easy procedure below to calculate specific gravity.? Mine was 2.4.
?
?
Charles tested my Tektite with a magnet.? He says he doesn't think there was any attraction.
?
Your spectrum is very interesting in that it has fewer lines and it does not have that huge hump near barium Ka1 compared to mine (as performed by Charles Young).? The hump looks like Compton Scatter to me.? Are you using a shield of any sort?? I think some of my Tektites lines (Pb, Cu?) are from Charles shield, but I believe the Ni is real.
?
Mike L.
|
I knew what you meant regarding the pancake probe.?? Charles and I both used a scaler and long timed counts to check for radioactivity.? There is a small (9 cpm), but statistically significant amount of activity with my Tektite. ?Many mineral samples have this low level activity.? Granite usually has much more.
?
Every iron meteorite I ever tested had no detectable activity, at least not with a 10 minute count with a pancake.??
?
I think I will get the Tektite back from Charles and take a XRF spectrum using Am241 exciter.? I didn't realize how much system interference there is with an x-ray set-up.? There is maybe more with Am241, but I know where it is.
?
Mike L.
|
Mike L.
