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Quick-Rusting Meteorites

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Uploaded by on Dec 5, 2008

Discovery-News.com: Iron meteorites are particularly sensitive to even the slightest bit of moisture - including the touch of a finger. James Williams pokes around for the reasons why.

For more space news stories, check out http://dsc.discovery.com/space

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  • i wouldnt know if it is likely to have such elements to be commonly found together but i wouldnt say its far fetched for a meteorite to picked up ice from the path of a comet in its travels to our home. science can be fun. even if it is bullshitted ^^.

  • @nosotroscuatro some meteorites can be made of elements that would corrode as they enter our atmosphere. they could also contain several elements side by side or layered. during the chemical reaction of corrosion could be a secondary chemical reaction that causes the elements on the inside to change phase or release gases during the change. A better example might be crystallized water that is side by side with francium. When the phase change occurs there would be a violent reaction.

  • I found a rusty rock, its attracted to a magnet and I can see Chondrules in it under a 15x magnifier, does it sound like a meteorite?..Do only meteorites have chondrules or can earth rocks have them too?

  • you studies them.

  • They are, but the room is humidity controlled. Also Iron slabs like that can be re-sanded and and re-etched when the outer layer gets too oxidized.

  • Usually about as radioactive as regular earth rocks, humans, and other very low radioactive materials. The idea that meteorites arrive hot or are radioactive are common misconceptions.

  • Study them. They teach us about the conditions in the early solar system.

  • my understanding is physics--composition, entry velocity, angle of entry, etc.

  • What do you do with a meteorites?

  • I wonder why some explode before touching ground like the Tunguska Event.

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