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- From: johnl@amiganet.chi.il.us (John Liskey)
- Newsgroups: sci.astro
- Subject: Re: Questions About Nickel-Iron Meteorites
- Message-ID: <johnl.0fla@amiganet.chi.il.us>
- Date: 16 Nov 92 05:41:33 GMT
- Article-I.D.: amiganet.johnl.0fla
- References: <69421@cup.portal.com>
- Organization: Amiga Network Information Systems
- Lines: 22
-
- In article <69421@cup.portal.com>, mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson)
- writes:
- >
- >I'd like to know whether all nickel-iron meteorites exhibit Wilmarstatten
- >patterns, or whether only some of them do. I know the stones at the
- >
- >I'd like to know if nickel-iron meteorites exhibiting Wilmarstatten patterns
- >are monocrystalline, oligocrystalline, or polycrystalline.
-
- Iron meteorites ALWAYS contain some nickel.. It is the amount of nickel
- relative to the amount of iron that determines the type or classification of
- the iron meteorite and also creates the crystalline pattern seen after etching
- a cut surface with weak acid. This, the Widmanstatten pattern, can appear very
- fine to coarse. Most Widmanstatten patterns are of 8 sided crystals and are
- therefore known as octahedrites. Other varieties shows 6 sided crystals or
- hexahedrite patterns also known as newman lines.. Yet another type, the very
- nickel-rich ataxites, shows virtually no pattern when etched.
-
- Hope this helps some.
-
- John Liskey
- johnl@amiganet.chi.il.us
-