[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Etched Sikhote Alin

Hi all,

Following the helpful advice of List members, I went ahead with the cutting
and etching of my Sikhote Alin shrapnel piece and hoped I'd strike lucky.

It took a couple of minutes for the first bands to appear but I was having
trouble at first with the polished face smearing with dark streaks as the
etchant bit into the iron (sulphates?) I dilluted the etchant to about 3%
Nitric and got far better results from then onwards but had to etch each piece
for about 20 mins.
The bands are much duller than all of the other coarse octahedrites I've
etched, maybe because this SA is heat affected shrapnel, but each piece showed
2 large bands about 20mm+ across and several smaller bands that have been
twisted and deformed.
This is the first time that I've seen any etched faces of this coarsest
octahedrite and I was very surprised how large and different these bands are
when compared to the coarse octahedrite pieces I've etched before....these
bands are BIG!
Sikhote Alin shrapnel can be quite cheap, so if you want to see what's hiding
inside, have a large enough piece and can cut it safely, give it a try.

Cheers!
Rob.
http://members.aol.com/FERNLEA4/index.html

----------
List Archives are located at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/list_best.html
For other help, FAQ's and subscription info and other resources,
visit  http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing_list.html
----------