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Moissanite from a real meteor

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Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Messages
62
Does anyone know how to find a Moissanite that has a part of it from an actual meteor?

That would be really cool.
 

Cehrabehra

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 29, 2006
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Date: 5/16/2010 1:30:01 AM
Author:Souled In
Does anyone know how to find a Moissanite that has a part of it from an actual meteor?


That would be really cool.
I''m sure it would be prohibitively expensive.
 

ma re

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 10, 2008
Messages
2,698
Well, moissanite is a synthetic, and some synthetics are produced in such a way, that a small crystal "seed" is used to grow the big crystals, but I don''t know if that''s how moissanites are made (for some reason I doubt it). If they are, then in theory every moissanite has a tiny piece of a meteorite inside.
 

Cehrabehra

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 29, 2006
Messages
11,071
Not all of it is synthetic but the real stuff is extremely rare. It was originally found in a crater... I imagine discussion of this must be kept academic so I am just c&p the first parts:

Background

Mineral moissanite was discovered by Henri Moissan while examining rock samples from a meteor crater located in Canyon Diablo, Arizona, in 1893. At first, he mistakenly identified the crystals as diamonds, but in 1904 he identified the crystals as silicon carbide (SiC).[2][3] The mineral form of silicon carbide was named moissanite in honor of Moissan later on in his life. The discovery in the Canyon Diablo meteorite and other places was challenged for a long time as carborundum contamination from human abrasive tools.[4]
[edit] Geological occurrence

Until the 1950s no other source, apart from meteorites, had been encountered. Later moissanite was found as inclusion in kimberlite from a diamond mine in Yakutia in 1959, and in the Green River Formation in Wyoming in 1958.[5] The existence of moissanite in nature was questioned even in 1986 by Charles Milton, an American geologist.[6]

Moissanite, in its natural form, is very rare. It has only been discovered in a small variety of places from upper mantle rock to meteorites. Discoveries have shown that moissanite occurs naturally as inclusions in diamonds, xenoliths, and ultramafic rocks such as kimberlite and lamproite.[4] They have also been identified in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites as presolar grains.[7]
[edit] In meteorites

Analysis of SiC grains found in the Murchison carbonaceous chondrite meteorite has revealed anomalous isotopic ratios of carbon and silicon, indicating an origin from outside the solar system.[8] 99% of these SiC grains originate around carbon-rich Asymptotic giant branch stars. SiC is commonly found around these stars as deduced from their infrared spectra.
 

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Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Messages
62
Ah, that is interesting information. Thank you there.. now if he you do happen to find out some information on how to get a piece of a real meteorite, please let me know. :)
 
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