Moissanite from a real meteor
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Cehrabehra
Super_Ideal_Rock
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ma re
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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
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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.
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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