Back in this thread, I mentioned that I (and others before) had retrieved metallic iron spheroids from sediment in my roof gutter, and believed them to be micrometeorites.
Skepticism followed, and the thread ended.
Well, yesterday, I had to get the ladder out again and clear the gutters - mostly organic sludge, but I trawled it with a magnet in a plastic bag and again, retrieved a small quantity of metallic particles - and on cursory examination, some of these were found to be little smooth, glossy spheres.
But I want to do this properly - I want to get these tested to see if their composition matches that of common iron meteorites (significant nickel content is a very good indicator, apparently).
So… anybody know how I can get them analysed with a mass spectrometer?
Do you live near a University with a good physics department? You can contact them. Chances are they’d be helpful directly, or can help point you in the right direction.
Analysis by Mass Spectrometer might be unnecessarily costly for your purposes.
The best route to go is separating the unknown (though maybe metallic) glossy spheres from the sludge debris and analyzing by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (aka EDX, EDAX, or EDS / non-destructive for small specimens) or inductively coupled plasma spectrometer ( aka ICP…destructive). ICP is more accurate for base metal composition (percentage of individual elements…approx to nearest 0.001% accuracy for each), but EDX will detect elements (with atomic weight greater than 5) that are at least 0.3% of the composition. ICP is typically more expensive especially for unknowns and requires at least a gram…the specimen is dissolved in acid prior to analysis but it can take more time to figure out what acid(s) are necessary for dissolution. There are numerous laboratories with the capability to do ICP or EDX.
Standard base metal compositions are typically measured by either optical emission (OES) or less accurately by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), but small particle are too small for either of these.
If the spheres’ composition has at least some moderate nickel-iron percentages, then cross section examination would be the best method to confirm likely meteorite material. Although, it’d require a meteorite expert to interpret the visual results and identify the specific mineral. In some nickel-iron meteorites, a cool Widmanstatten pattern appears. There are many different known classifications of meteorite mineral.
I agree with IvoryTower, you’ll probably be able to find someone willing to help you at a decent sized research university. In my experience a lot of researchers are pretty enthusiastic about the chance to show off their expertise and shiny equipment to a “normal” person. You’ll get the added bonus of having someone to help you interpret your results.
This seems like exactly the kind of thing a grad student might help you out with for a case of beer.
If you’ve got 30$ and some free time, you could always give this homemade spectroscope a try. The software is fee, and according to the documentation, it’s sensitive enough to discriminate between varieties of wine. Not sure if your desired sample is the optimum type though, as most of their examples are liquids. :dubious:
That’s an optical spectroscope, not a mass spectrometer, which is an altogether different beast, operating on completely different principles.
Getting the Mass Spectrograph, by the way, is half the battle – or less. Interpreting Mass Spectral data is an art in itself. Even if you are only looking for two or three patches of data 9corresponding to a few metals), getting relative concentrations or proportions will be another exercise. You want someone with a mass spectrograph to perform the measurement for you, as well.
I’d suggest checking the local universities and such, as mentioned above.
If that fails, I can ask my friend if he wants to check it out, and if he thinks the tech he works at has the needed skills to identify it.
Are you ok with a destructive analytical method? First thing that comes to mind is to digest it and run the juice on an ICP/MS. A traditional AA or ICP can also get you metal content. There are also possibly some nondestructive X-ray techniques.
Best bet is to find someone who actually studies this sort of thing.