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Re: (meteorobs) Meteorites and Terminal velocity
At 10:45 PM 12/26/00 -0700, you wrote:
>George,
>
> Good point about Appollo 13, but I think if you add -240o F, the
>t
>
> Nick Martin suggested that some combination of oxides could cause the
>meteorites to burn after being exposed to high temperatures during entry.
>Lew promply suggested to Nick that he take his idea and get out of Dodge.
>Marco now has suggested something similar but more exotic. The Mazapil
>Meteroite narrative offers an insight, "At once the corral was covered with
>a phosphoescent light, while suspended in the air were small luminous
>sparks as though from a rocket." And, "I saw this luminous air disappear,
>and there remained on the ground only such a light as is made when a match
>is rubbed." Something was going on, maybe it was the detected 0.3%
>phosphorus burning once it was ignited.
> Dave English
>
It was metallic dust or a porous solid made up of very poorly consolidated
metal powder. Elemental phosphorus would I suppose be at least a possibility
too if the meteorite material had conslidated at a relatively low
temperature so that the phosphorus had not reacted with other materials.
Migration of phosphorus vapour during cooling and heating cycles(eg during
an eccentric solar orbit) could also lead to local concentrations of solid
phosphrous.
A neat idea David but as you say we need to await some more science.
Nick
Nick Martin, Bonnyton House, By Ayr, Ayrshire KA6 7EW ,Scotland, UK.
Latitude 55 24'56" Longitude 4 26' 00".
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