John1131 1 Posted February 11 I found this rock a few years ago. Im not sure if it is a metorite it looks alot like one and has most of the signs it is except it is not magnetic although you can clearly see rust in it. I can scrub the rust off and within a few days it comes back. And it looks like it has little spots of some kind of metal. Iam really hoping it is real. If anyone can help I would really appreciate it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John1131 1 Posted February 11 I placed a strong magnet to it and there is no push or pull. But I took a grill igniter sparker lol. Idk what there called you press the button and it sparks. Anyway the I placed my finger on one side and the sparker on the other side and it traveled through and shocked me. So it is conductive. I am really confused with this. If it isn't a metorite I still want to know what it it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fredmason 901 Posted February 11 I don't know about that for a conductivity test...get a multi-meter... if it is not magnetic it probably not a meteorite.... fred Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Morlock 911 Posted February 11 Looks like a fine grained granite. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 1,872 Posted February 11 3 hours ago, John1131 said: I placed a strong magnet to it and there is no push or pull. But I took a grill igniter sparker lol. Idk what there called you press the button and it sparks. Anyway the I placed my finger on one side and the sparker on the other side and it traveled through and shocked me. So it is conductive. I am really confused with this. If it isn't a metorite I still want to know what it it. That was a piezo spark. Notice it will jump across an air gap. Now rationalize. If that spark will jump across an air gap could it run across a (barely) conductive surface? Could the spark be travelling across the surface of the stone rather than through a conductive center? Now ask yourself, "are the conclusions I reached from my observation based on assumptions?" Then try the same experiment with a boiled egg and see if you get the same results. Then consider the fact that only iron meteorites would be conductive anyway. The vast majority of meteorites would not be conductive. So a conductivity test would not really tell us much even if we performed it correctly. So we must seriously ponder our methodology before we proceed lest we waste time and arrive at the wrong conclusions. After all this is an experiment. May I suggest a definitive experiment you can do to determine if your stone is from space? I would suggest that any suspect stone needs to have a window filed in it. Use a piece of 80 grit sandpaper with some water on a plastic cutting board to grind a small window. Sand off one of those protrusions on the side. Make sure to get down into the stone and get past any weathering or cortex on the outside of the stone. Now smooth that surface with 120 grit and note the color of the slurry. That is the "streak". A meteorite will leave a clear, whitish paste that has no real color. Hematite will leave a streak with red hues from bright red enchilada sauce to dark auburn but it will be red. The window will reveal the inside matrix of the stone and it will be easy to identify. If it is a meteorite it will have chondrules and metal flecks inside. If it is an earthly rock you will see familiar earthly minerals. Post some photos of your experiment and show us the results! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John1131 1 Posted February 11 The spark definitely goes thru the stone. I tried the same thing with about a dozen different rocks I have with me. I have multi-meter I just have to find it. I can record a video of the spark traveling thru it too. The spark will only jump about a half inch. And I can hold the sparker a half inch from it, and my finger on the opposite side a half inch and it goes straight thru. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 1,872 Posted February 11 3 minutes ago, John1131 said: The spark definitely goes thru the stone. I tried the same thing with about a dozen different rocks I have with me. I have multi-meter I just have to find it. I can record a video of the spark traveling thru it too. The spark will only jump about a half inch. And I can hold the sparker a half inch from it, and my finger on the opposite side a half inch and it goes straight thru. O.K. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John1131 1 Posted February 11 It's not conductive lol. In a dark room the spark looks like it goes straight in one side and out the other. It still acted alot different the the other stones I tried it on. I'll have to go buy some sand paper. To make the window. I tried a metal file and I couldn't get it to take a layer off at all. I have a grinder for sand paper tho. After I grind it down I'll see what it looks like and upload some pictures. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John1131 1 Posted February 11 (edited) I can't get the right sand paper at this time, so I used what I had right now a cutting wheel and P60 paper. This is what I got. It's about the same on the inside as it is the out. It did leave a whitish gray color tho. Sorry about my spelling and punctuation I have been busy trying to multi task and I'm running on no sleep from last night. I really don't know much about this. And haven't had time to study more about it. Should I still sand it down with finer sand paper, send a pic to a university or do you think it's just a weird rock. Edited February 11 by John1131 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mikestang 607 Posted February 11 Does not appear to be a meteorite to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bedrock Bob 1,872 Posted February 11 It sure does not look like a meteorite. Maybe a sandstone concretion of some sort. You are looking for metal flakes or chondrules in the window. I don't see any. Sorry man, I don't think so. But you did the appropriate test to find out! Now go find one that does stick to a magnet and has iron flecks inside! Regards, Bob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fredmason 901 Posted February 12 any fine/coarse whetstone will grind way better than sandpaper...very cheap at home depot or hardware stone... fred Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
