[meteorite-list] have mercy for meteorite memory!

From: rochette <rochette_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:54:05 2004
Message-ID: <v03007800b85e3d109407_at_[193.250.122.91]>

Dear meteorite fans

I do not want to hurt your personal belief and spoil the passionate
relationship you have with meteorites. However I appeal to your compassion
to stop a disastrous habit: blessing a newly found meteorite by touching it
with a magnet. Although this magical ritual is recommended by Nininger and
every subsequent grand masters, it is both pointless rationally and evil
spiritually: its unavoidable consequence (especially with the modern rare
earth strong magnets) is to fully erase the magnetic memory of the
meteorite (just like when you approach the magnet to a floppy disk),
severely wounding the meteorite soul and threatening the scientific study
of this meteorite. The so called paleomagnetic study of the magnetic memory
of meteorite can lead to various important subjects such as the source of
energy in the early solar system or the low temperature transfer of
ALH84001 from Mars to Earth. I personally checked that all desert finds SNC
had their paleomagnetic signal erased, thus diminishing their scientifc
interest.

In terms of rational benefit for the meteorite hunter I do not see the
value of the magnet ceremony: a lot of rare meteorites (angrite, HED, SNC,
R and CM chondrites, some LL and aubrites) are not attracted by a magnet.
Increasing the strength of the magnet leads to the attraction of
terrestrial basalts. Even the use of the magnet for separating ordinary
from rare type is flawn: E, CR and CH, Ureilite, Winowaite and so on are
also strongly magnetic... If one is really interested as using magnetic
properties to classify meteorites, a compass can do the job qualitatively
and for quantitative work a magnetic susceptibility probe worth 1200 $ (or
a metal detector!) makes a much better job than the magnet without erasing
the paleomagnetic signal.

So please have mercy, for the sake of meteorite soul and paleomagnetic
research! Think that the early solar system music is recorded in this rock;
keep this music for the future even if you cannot play it for yourself!

Pierre
Received on Sat 16 Feb 2002 03:28:14 PM PST