[meteorite-list] Any interesting (?) Chinese tektite

From: JKGwilliam <h3chondrite_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri Mar 10 13:15:55 2006
Message-ID: <6.2.1.2.2.20060310105524.02bc1730_at_pop.west.cox.net>

This same "rainbow" effect is often seen on old glass object that have been
subjected to the elements for a number of years. Over the years, I've
found old medicine bottles, window glass and even an old pair of
wire-rimmed spectacles that displayed this effect. Some of the old timers
here in Arizona used to refer to it as "opalized glass" which did sort of
describe the swirling colors, but it actually has noting to do with opals.
Someone else speculated that it might be due to some type of coating that
acts as a filter that reflects some colors of light better than
others. Antique bottle collectors claim that bottles that have been buried
often have this opalization or rainbow effect and is caused by minerals in
the soil.

JKGwilliam


At 08:55 AM 3/10/2006, Norm Lehrman wrote:
>Mark & list,
>
>About five years ago, as Cookie and I were helping our
>main Chinese supplier unpack at Tucson we found a
>couple of dozen like you have pictured. The
>coloration is a surface patina like Carnival Glass.
>We never determined how it formed, but I have seen
>similar patinas developed on ghost town glass that has
>been through a fire. I always suspected that the
>tektites might have been through a warehouse fire.
>Others suggested that an overly aggressive acid
>treatment was used in cleaning, but I've tried a
>variety of acids over the years and have never seen
>anything like this happen.
>
>Ironically, we were just commenting between us this
>year that it is strange that we have never seen the
>phenomena again. Not a single piece. This convinces
>me we are talking about some non-natural feature. To
>find 20 or 30 in one crate, then no more in something
>on the order of 50,000 to 75,000 pieces that we have
>subsequently sorted certainly provides a clue.
>
>I looked into the commercial production of carnival
>glass, but I don't remember the whole story.
>Something about sublimation of a metal film on hot
>glass. If you want to pursue the subject, look into
>that manufacturing process for more clues.
>
>As I recall, I sold all our pieces to a single
>collector in Texas. We openly expressed our concerns
>that this was probably not a natural phenomenon.
>
>Regards,
>Norm
>http://tektitesource.com
>
>--- MARK BOSTICK <thebigcollector_at_msn.com> wrote:
>
> > Hello list,
> >
> > Hope everyone is doing well.
> >
> > This may or may not be interesting, as it may or may
> > not be that unusual.
> > However, I have sorted through and sold a lot of
> > tektites over the years and
> > this is the only tektite like it I have seen.
> >
> > A nice average sized dumbell tektite....
> >
> >
>http://www.meteoritearticles.com/coltektitechin76g.html
> >
> > Photographs were taken under white photograph lights
> > in a room with white
> > walls. The color is more obvious in person and was
> > hard to reproduce
> > digitally. On the ends and in the surface dimples,
> > you can see a very
> > striking blue color. The ends also show a little
> > purple color, but more of
> > the blue. Not sure what has caused this colorling.
> > Any thoughts?
> >
> > Clear Skies,
> > Mark Bostick
> > Wichita, Kansas
> > www.meteoritearticles.com
> >
> >
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Received on Fri 10 Mar 2006 01:19:19 PM PST