Meteoritic iron

The metal of the space is a kind of natural damask really heterogeneous composition.

Have you ever wondered if there was meteoritic iron on Earth ? Well, the answer is yes !

Of course, there are analyses required to determine whether the minerals components of a material are meteoritic iron or earthly iron. Meteoritic iron contains a higher percentage of nickel compared to earthly iron. The explanation behind this higher nickel rate lies in the fact that metal meteorites, remnants of the primordial materials which formed the planets of our solar system, are very often rich in nickel.

Did you know that some ancient objects were made out of meteoritic iron ? It has been shown that rare artefacts such as Thutankhamun’s dagger, found in his tomb, were forged from metal meteorites.

There are two varieties of meteorites:

Chondrites

Chondrites (approximately 85% of falls) provide access fully into the mysterious world of outer space. They are the ancestral matter, since they are generally considered to be derived from the pre solar nebula that gave birth to our solar system. They contain many mineral species remains totally unknown in terrestrial rocks.

Chondrites are mainly mineral and contain a small proportion of iron.

Iron meteorites or siderites

Iron meteorites or siderites (approximately 6% of falls) are primarily composed of iron, nickel, (a content of about 5% seems to be a minimum value from the observations and analyzes), iridium, chromium, gallium, carbon, phosphorus, ..., which almost always comprise residues or inclusions of various nature (often troilite, which has a bronze color after exposure to the acid).

These metallic meteorites are distinguished into three groups according to their specific crystal structure revealed to the acid.

- The ataxites which the nickel content is so important that the texture can be revealed

- The hexaédrites whose structure is most often a cluster of large hexahedral (cubic) kamacite (also known as alpha iron)
- The octaédrites we use.

Like all siderites, they are composed of kamacite and Taenite that crystallize, the first diffusing into the second depending on the temperature. Note that this is the kamacite that is attacked by acid, while the rest Taenite embossed giving the pattern known as Widmanstätten figures name.

This structure resembling ice crystals takes several million years to form. These complex oblique and parallel interlacing constitute a kind of mineral book of nature that speaks to us of the origins of the heavenly bodies, which in fact tell R Caillois it is "the only drawings known to man , which are not ground.

Before you can contemplate, it is nevertheless identify their impure gangue charred surface following a hasty entry into the atmosphere.

Add in conclusion that many observers found that recently fallen meteorites from the sky were naturally hot surface, but had an inner temperature of absolute zero (-273.5), which can mitigate the fascination for these alien bodies .

We are currently investigating the possibility of manufacturing certain handles for our Laguiole knives in meteorite, but this is a highly abrasive mineral and therefore difficult to work with. Our knife handles thus use fairly traditional materials for the time being