[meteorite-list] Elma Status?

Adam Hupe adamhupe at comcast.net
Wed Aug 6 17:22:56 EDT 2003 

Hi Mike, Mike and List,

The Elma material is definitely not a meteorite, so to speak.  It could
prove to be just as or more interesting to the scientific community.  The
jury is still out on exactly what this material is or how it was created.
The initial lab results created more questions than answers. As has been
reported this material consist of sand incased in a basaltic glass shell.
The materials in the glass are not separated into swirls so what ever
created these objects had a huge amount of energy and the glass was quenched
very rapidly. Experiments are being conducted to see how these might have
been created.  We should have more answers by next week.  This is looking
more like an X-files episode than a meteor sighting.  For now, we are
keeping an open mind regarding this material.

All the best,

Adam and Greg Hupe

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[meteorite-list] Elma Status?

[meteorite-list] Elma Status?

Adam Hupe adamhupe at comcast.net
Wed Aug 6 19:08:43 EDT 2003 

Hi Tom and List,

The problem with this material is that it does not contain any metal.  If it
was in a reducing environment why isn't there any metal, even at microprobe
levels?  This almost certainly eliminates this material coming from an
industrial process, at least none that I have ever heard of.  If it came
from a foundry why wasn't the sand melted in the center.  The sand is also
trapped in sealed vesicles, that look almost like chondrules, like a
condensation product, which is extremely odd.  It was extremely difficult to
make thin-sections of this stuff because of the friability of the material
trapped inside.

Will update as we get more results,

Adam


----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom aka James Knudson" <knudson911 at frontiernet.net>
To: "mafer" <mafer at imagineopals.com>; "Adam Hupe" <adamhupe at comcast.net>
Cc: "meteor central" <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2003 3:39 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Elma Status?


> Hello All, This Elma stuff sounds like a metal casting bi-product from a
> foundry. Is there a foundry in our around Elma?
> Thanks, Tom
> Peregrineflier <><
> The proudest member of the IMCA 6168

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[meteorite-list] Yet another Elma Material update

[meteorite-list] Yet another Elma Material update

Adam Hupe adamhupe at comcast.net
Sat Aug 16 02:43:44 EDT 2003 

Dear List Members,

This email was sent and I felt it deserved to be responded to publicly
because I have received numerous other emails asking similar questions.  If
you are not interested in the latest Elma material results please hit your
delete button now.

**************************************************
I was wondering if you would mind updating me on what you have
found out about the Elma object. I did not want to post this to the list
because the subject seems to bring out the worst in SOME people, and I
don't really want to invoke another word war. In any case, I would keep
anything you say confidential until you decide to tell the rest of the
community about it if you wish.
**************************************************

First of all, I went back to Elma for some answers to several questions.
Some of the things that I did was to collect samples from the supplier of
the original sinter track material and to track down the source of  the sand
found in the shot-put pit.

The sand in the shot-put pit came from a quarry about a quarter of a mile
away.  It was determined that the sand is natural, clean and that the glassy
objects were introduced sometime later.

Since sinters could be a possible explanation we decided it would be proper
to compare them with what was found in the pit.  The sinters are left over
material from burning coal in a steam plant.  The sinters in the original
track have been covered for over a decade by a layer of asphalt and a
covering of rubber.  Since it was thought that these glassy objects might
have been contamination from the original track it was important to locate
the source of these sinters for comparison.  Here is the problem, coal
varies from one burn to the next which means there will be some variance in
the sinters.  All I can say is that the sinters that were tested at the UW
did not match the glassy objects found in the pit.  The UW will release a
public opinion, I believe, on the results tomorrow.

Things that we have no explanation for:

A dust cloud was observed from the pit within seconds of seeing the
fireball.

An eyewitnesses finger and thumb were burned after picking up a piece.

A piece of this glass was found by a police officer embedded in a telephone
pole next to the pit.

The same police officer reported that there were dents and burn marks on
some nearby bleachers.

The same officer reported that where these black objects were found on an
asphalt sidewalk that there was melting.

A newspaper photographer took a picture of hundreds of little craters in the
sand, each containing these black glass objects at the bottom.

Sand which was not melted was found in the centers of most of these objects
which consist of basaltic glass that was quenched very rapidly, kind of like
a fulgurite.

The track coach claims the sand was clean prior to this event and sinters
would never have been added.

A few institutions have weighed in on this event.  One DOD contractor thinks
it could have been a transient event (a plasma discharge) which they
sporadically pick up on their sensors when monitoring for nuclear activity
from time to time.  A Russian scientist is convinced that it might have been
a Geometeorite event (ball lightning).  I think that the UW will report that
yet more study needs to be done in order to connect this strange glass to
the meteor sighting which was witnessed by several dozen people.

I will post microprobe pictures and data when the UW gives me the green
light.

All the best,

Adam

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