1893.] NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 373 



A TEMPERED STEEL METEORITE. 

 BY E. GOLDSMITH. 



Among the many objects brought to Philadelphia by the Peary 

 Expedition to Greenland in 1891 was a meteorite weighing about 267 

 pounds. It was found by Professor Angelo Heilprin near Godhaven, 

 Disco Island. The mass is somewhat pear-shaped and irregularly 

 pitted. When received at the Academy it appeared to be solid and 

 devoid of cracks or any signs of disintegration. This condition soon 

 changed. The mass increased in volume, cracked, and began falling 

 to pieces, apparently remaining dry during these changes. No drops 

 of moisture or chloride of iron could be detected. 



The assumption that the crumbling was due to oxidation was based 

 on the fact of the existence of a higher temperature and a greater 

 quantity of ozone in our latitude than in that of Greenland. 



Professor Heilprin presented to me for examination some of the 

 pieces which had separated from the mass. They were dull and 

 gave evidence of oxidation. A little hammering sufficed to separate 

 the substance into granules and powder, the distinction between them 

 being marked. The granules are hard, metallic and tough, whilst 

 the powder is capable of reduction to any degree of fineness. The 

 separation, however, was not perfect, as the granules retained some 

 oxide and the black powder included some of the finely divided 

 particles of the metal. An attempt to separate the metal from the 

 oxide with a bar magnet was unsuccessful because the whole mass 

 was practically magnetic. 



A determination of the separated quautities revealed : Granules 

 =73 - 8%, Powder— 26"2%. Specific gravity of the granules=6'14 ; 

 that of the powder=4.73. 



A portion of the specimen was reserved for grinding and etching; 

 the process involved considerable difficulty because of the extreme 

 hardness of the mass. The rotating stone, driven by a belt, appeared 

 to be soft and powerless to reduce the meteorite, but by adding sand 

 to the wet stone I succeeded, after hours of patient labor, in producing 

 a plane surface. Further grinding with coarse and fine corundum 

 and polishing with rouge produced a surface on which the etching 

 would reveal its terrestial or celestial origin. A new three edged saw- 

 file was blunted by the first contact with the mass and no filings 

 could be secured. Upon passing a sharp edge of the mass over a 



