Big Boys Hobbies

Micro Meteorite or Slag?

Billvert

Billvert

Elite Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2009
Messages
732
Location
Spokane, WA
First I will apologize for the picture I am using a phone temporarily. I found this at my local park it was about 4 inches and gave an extremely strong signal. I was sure it was large deep iron or a can. I don't have a pin pointer and was very confused as to where this signal was coming from. I finally tried the pile of "rocks" I had thrown to the side for a hot rock. there it was a brown rock with a killer signal. I noticed it was Really heavy, too heavy for a normal rock. I scraped the brown coloring off of it and it was a pewter grey in color. I dug into it with my screw driver an it is bright and shiny inside like stainless steel.

A few day later I took it to my local Metal detector shop and asked the owner what he thought it was. He thought it was silver and scraped it and did a chemical test. It was negative for silver. It also does not respond to a magnet at all, and is not lead it is very hard. It also appears to have been formed in a molten way. any guesses... the shop. owner also said he had no idea what it is.

Sorry the pictures are even fuzzier than I thought
 

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If it was a meteorite it would be attracted to a magnet unless it was a stony chondrite. It is made of metal so I think it is a meteorwrong. Is it heavier than aluminum?
 
Diggler said:
If it was a meteorite it would be attracted to a magnet unless it was a stony chondrite. It is made of metal so I think it is a meteorwrong. Is it heavier than aluminum?
Click to expand...

I looked at the meteorwrong checklist when I first found it and it is definitely terrestial.
I haven't tested it for 5% nickel content though;)

It seems to be heavier than aluminum feels like lead but it is very hard. It also had a sharp point when I dug it up that snapped off in my hand so it is brittle not malleable.
 
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Sorry but I think I have to agree that it is a meterwrong. Sorry that we are not telling you what you want to hear but it should be attracted to a magnet like a mother. I found something similar to what you are describing also the other day, I don't know what mine is either but what ever it is I am going to keep it.
 
Yeah, I've found a couple things like that in tot lots before. I think they were slag from welders assembling the playground equipment or something like that.
 
nyjrbethelct said:
Thanks. I learned something new today. I didn't know that meteorites should be attracted to a magnet.
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Yah I actually have a meteorite hunting stick. It is a super-magnet on the end of a stick. Best thing to do is to go to a field where farming has taken place, the longer the better, and check the rocks along the fence lines. Farmers will throw them all to the fences to avoid plow damage and that is where they accumulate. Can do it with a detector too. But it is the stony meteorites that are harder to find, and worth more $$$...
 
how strong of a magnet?
i have a rock that is very dense... i found it with a metal detector... i filed the corner and it was very shiny (outside is dark) but it is not attracted to a magnet( i only used a refrigerator mag.)
 
father/son/ohio said:
how strong of a magnet?
i have a rock that is very dense... i found it with a metal detector... i filed the corner and it was very shiny (outside is dark) but it is not attracted to a magnet( i only used a refrigerator mag.)
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Well the bigger the better. Here it is in its current configuration. I normally only use the small magnet because it is lighter and probably 20x stronger. If you stick it to the fridge, you have to slide it to the side to remove it. I have not found a meteorite yet but I haven't been looking much. I usually tie the magnet to a rope and go magnet fishing at local lake. Drop it over the side of a dock or at a boat ramp and drag the bottom. Never know what you will pull up. Magnet has the strength to pull up an outboard motor but the best thing I ever got was a knife.

But if you already have the rock you just want to test, any size magnet will do. If you have an old hard drive, tear it apart. They all have supewr magnets in them. It will have either 1 or 2 and be thin and C shaped. But STRONG!
 

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I find a lot of those blobs.....

I have been figuring that they are melted aluminum cans. Or something similar. They don't stick to magnets. I like the welding slag from playgrounds too.
Marty
 
I think mine is some kind of man made slag but you can't blame me for wishing that it is something more exotic. One wild thought I had was it is some kind of product of a lightning strike, maybe a melted piece of a transmission tower or something. It was found about thirty feet from a playground, so as mentioned by a couple of earlier posts it could be construction related
 
Billvert said:
I think mine is some kind of man made slag but you can't blame me for wishing that it is something more exotic. One wild thought I had was it is some kind of product of a lightning strike, maybe a melted piece of a transmission tower or something. It was found about thirty feet from a playground, so as mentioned by a couple of earlier posts it could be construction related
Click to expand...

I sometimes find molten lead blobs and solder at old home sites. That can indicate past human activity in more remote off-road areas.
 
Chimin In ....I also have found small rocks in fields ( ABOUT 8 IN DOWN )..that ARE attracted to magnets...could be parts from farm equipment ? The slag that I find in yards ,usually come from old plumming joints when we had poured lead joints...cool finds all the same.
 
Washington, ay?
Definitely can slaw. :lol:
Playin', Bill... it's Friday. ;)
(OK... it's technically, Saterday... sorry.)
 
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Diggler said:
Well the bigger the better. Here it is in its current configuration. I normally only use the small magnet because it is lighter and probably 20x stronger. If you stick it to the fridge, you have to slide it to the side to remove it. I have not found a meteorite yet but I haven't been looking much. I usually tie the magnet to a rope and go magnet fishing at local lake. Drop it over the side of a dock or at a boat ramp and drag the bottom. Never know what you will pull up. Magnet has the strength to pull up an outboard motor but the best thing I ever got was a knife.

But if you already have the rock you just want to test, any size magnet will do. If you have an old hard drive, tear it apart. They all have supewr magnets in them. It will have either 1 or 2 and be thin and C shaped. But STRONG!
Click to expand...

Is that a Magnetron Magnet from a Microwave oven?
 
No not out of a microwave. Just a rare earth from the net with a speaker magnet stuck to it. As far as the VDI of a meteorite on the V3, it should ring up as iron and possibly up to nickel, with a little cobalt for good measure.
 
Well,
it seems we have found similar ufo's/unidentified found object) ( I have just posted mine in other thread):lol:
 
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