Heat Experiments
It has been my contention that the shape, composition, and
structure of the meteorite allowed it to
make
a fiery transit through Earth's atmosphere with little apparent damage.
The thin walls covered in 90% silicon and separated by small voids (vesicles)
gives it the perfect structure to withstand and
dissipate heat. Heat tiles from the space shuttle can be heated to 1000's
of degrees and almost immediately held in one's hand, without being burned.
Since I was claiming that the meteorite exhibited similar features, I performed
the following heat experiment.
I
used a propane torch to heat one of the core sample
pieces until it registered 800° F. I have been told that I probably heated
it to a much higher temperature,
but that was as far as my infrared thermometer would go. I then monitored
the temperature and discovered that it was back to room temperature and I could
hold it in my hand within 4 minutes. That is not as good as the space
shuttle, but on the other hand, nature didn't spend a billion dollars making
either.
