Meteorite makeup?

J

John L

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Oct 28, 2004
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What type of steel or iron is in a meteorite? Can this material be silver soldered? Am wanting to solder meteorite to nickel silver. Thanks
 
Depends on the meteorite. Some are iron with about 20% Ni which is good stuff. They may also have other things in them [basalt?]
 
There are several different types of meteorites. I am assuming your talking about the iron meteorites. They are about 94% iron and 6% nickel and many other trace elements. They also have a pattern when they are ground, polished and etched. I have never silver soldered one but it should work.

I have about 14 meteorites now, it is an addictive hobby collecting them. Each year I take them to my daughter's school and show them to each class. It is always a big hit for the students to get to hold something from space.

Someday I will forge one and then pattern weld it into a blade. Both skills need to be better refined for me before screwing up something that cost's over $100 a Lbs.
 
NiFe meteorite may have as much as 25% Ni. Over 5% Ni is insoluable in the Ferrite lattice and forms planar crystal forms known as exsolution lamellae. These are what you see in the Widmanstatten pattern. The flat planar crystal structures put very pronounced and (from a knife maker's point of view) undesirable planes of weakness in the metal. Widmanstatten patterned steel is not a good choice for a blade that will be used.

Less that 5% Ni is beneficial to the steel. Meteorites with about 4% Ni are called Hexahedrites, 6-12% Ni are Octahedrites which are the main widmanstatten types. Over 20% Ni are termed Ataxites and have a very cross-hatched appearance of the exsolution lamellae.
 
mete said:
'exsolution lamallae' is not a metallurgical term !!
Click to expand...

It is the term used by those who study meteorites for crystallization of excess Ni in the FeNi system along preferred crystallographic axes. These are the planes in the cubic system that define bipyramidal crystal forms that single crystals take and provide the geometric control of the Widmanstatten pattern.

The term may not be used in industrial metallurgy, but it is the proper term for meteorites.
 
Meteorites are a natural material and can vary quite a bit. I'm not sure if the term dendritic applies but I believe this material is slow cooled in its formation. I've taken small pieces of the material and backed them with 1080 and rolled them out to 5-6 times original surface area. The heavy nickel striations fracture into many plates of nickel on rolling. It changes and intensifies the pattern by revealing many the layers in the nickel making a very interesting pattern...Ed
 
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