XRF

[XLV]

first thing i know nothing about meteorites ....i have a question can a hand held XRF unit help someone in knowing if a so called meteorite is real ....seen a few so called meteorites (Bicol is famous for them but am guessing 99.99% of them are scameteorites not meteorites.... i also seen members here argue whats what ....am no fool i know cry babies from a honest members and i also know who to trust so please give me your honest option on how to tell the easy way in the field and if it takes many years to learn i understand ..

 

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[smokeythecat]

The real meteorites a lot of times have a unique "look" to them. Iron ores and slags are fairly easy to identify. The "burn crust" is one of the most obvious signs. The other thing you could do in the field is a nickle test. They sell nickle test kits to test metals for allergies and are inexpensive.

 

[galenrog]

I honestly doubt that an XRF device could tell you if any particular rock is a meteorite. As in any other field where an XRF could be used, it is only as good as

1) Design capabilities.

2) Calibration.

3) User expertise.

Time for more coffee.

 

[XLV]

smokeythecat ....where am at theres volcanic activity i guess its very hard to tell whats what am sure what i seen was shot out of a volcano not from outer space ,,,i guess it takes many years of study to really know thanks for the in put

 

[hvacker]

If you buy a meteorite you could do some testing. One thing is how a magnet JUMPS to most meteorites. Streak test and how they are really heavy.
Devise a way to cut/grind a window so the innards can be seen. An acid etch is sometimes done so the unique pattern can be seen. Others have used copper/graphite bath to print the image.
Another test is a spark test. Iron has it's own special spark group compared to, for instance steel or alloys. But the test is that iron sparks and most, maybe all other elements don't. I can't think of another sparkler. Maybe someone else here knows. The web has pictures of what the sparks should look like but if it sparks, it's got iron in it. I've never sparked a meteorite but have used sparks to ID steel/iron of different types.
If you go to a known fall the chances are much better of finding one.

In the 50's at a fall called Glorieta, a find was taken to a creek so a specific gravity test could be made. He jumped in the creek as I understand as the locals looked on. I've gone to Glorieta probably 6 times and am still looking.

 

[XLV]

hvacker ...thanks for the info ...my problem the rocks here all stick to magnet and some might even have nickel in them i guess in a active volcanic area its probably just a waste of time ..