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Re: (meteorobs) Meteorites and Terminal velocity
In a message dated 12/23/00 1:36:17 PM Pacific Standard Time,
epmajden@home.com writes:
<<
Dr. Peter Millman investigated the Benton, N.B. fall which was picked up
immediately after landing and this meteorite was hot. It was reported to be
like a hot potato that you couldn't hold comfortably in your hand but could
toss it from one hand to another. <<
About how hot would this be? 120-150 deg F. range maybe? Not an unreasonable
possibility. Hot enough to not hold comfortably. Any reports of blistered
skin from this hand tossing?
>>Other meteorites are cold on landing.
Dr. Halliday refered me to a paper with the title, "Temperatures of
Meteoroids in Space" by Clay P. Butler from the U.S, Naval Radiological
Defence Laboratory in San Francisco, which was published in the Journal,
METEORITICS, volume 3, 1966 pages 59-70. Meteoroids in a near Earth
enviroment aren't as cold as one would think.<<
If there was a small accumulation of heat within the meteoroid from solar
radiation just slightly greater than what drains back into the cold of space,
wouldn't eventually the meteoroid become so hot that the interior crystal
structure changes? Has there been any meteorites found with indications of a
recently remelted and quickly crystalized interior beyond the fusion crust?
>> Believe what you like George, but I think I will accept what the
professionals say until observational evidence indicates otherwise.
>>
That's very courteous of you. But from what I can gather there appears to be
confusion of what's observational evidence with anecdotal "evidence". Did Dr.
Millman take any temperature measurements of the Benton, NB fall that would
support the hot potato-like temperatures or was he going strictly by an
anecdotal story?
GeoZay
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