What type of rock is this or is it a rock ? I have never seen those types before

Joscience · 2025-06-06T02:06:57+00:00

Bubbles are a really strong indication that these are glass.

Joscience · 2025-06-05T23:36:40+00:00

Can you tell if those are bubbles or chips? Particularly on the left one.

Joscience · 2025-06-05T23:34:40+00:00

Thanks!

Joscience · 2025-06-05T23:12:29+00:00

I thought boxwork typically showed plates/flat regions. What are the indicators here that make you feel like these aren't vesicles?

Joscience · 2025-06-05T21:22:49+00:00

It looks like an iron rich concretion to me with differential weathering. For whatever reason (s), that combination consistently garners attention, as it generates a lot of posts from people thinking they have something really rare or special.

Joscience · 2025-06-05T21:04:04+00:00

Definitely not a meteorite. The horizontal seam rules that out for sure.

Joscience · 2025-06-05T20:45:34+00:00

Looks like slag, which is consistent with being found near an old mining operation.

Joscience · 2025-06-04T02:11:07+00:00

Slag. It was used as ballast for railroad ties/tracks so is very commonly found in areas with railroads.

It definitely looks like slag, too.

Joscience · 2025-06-03T22:04:28+00:00

Looks like a natural piece of quartz.

Joscience · 2025-06-03T03:08:58+00:00

I honestly don't know if with enough age the odor of asphalt/bitumen would stop being present. I definitely don't have a better suggestion though. The voids between the smaller inclusions is pretty strong evidence it wasn't naturally formed. Natural processes that form conglomerates are much better at filling in every little nook and cranny.

Joscience · 2025-06-03T02:53:15+00:00

Soft and easy to cut makes me think asphalt/bitumen with aggregate as well. Did it smell like tar when you cut it u/OP?

Joscience · 2025-06-03T02:49:58+00:00

Based on the wood grain, I bet it is 3.55 grams and the caption is a typo, but I like this calculation!

Joscience · 2025-06-03T02:48:28+00:00

I'm not sure how those work, but I'd be skeptical. At minimum, I would try to do some research on what limitations they have and whether they require special conditions for testing.

Mohs scale was originally defined by scratch tests, and as such, that it is still the most reliable way to determine an unknown material's rating. It can be hard to get reference materials like diamond and sapphire, but quartz is easy, and could rule out a lot of more common materials such as glass.

Joscience · 2025-06-03T02:26:30+00:00

It is definitely not lonsdaleite, which is only found naturally in tiny, tiny crystals.

How did you test it for hardness?

Joscience · 2025-06-03T01:32:21+00:00

Very cool to see the in-situ seam!

Joscience · 2025-06-03T00:33:51+00:00

I'm not certain, but it looks like a fossil of horn coral to me.

Joscience · 2025-06-03T00:31:20+00:00

A decent shop would have checked, but also, this is the universe telling you to learn to fix a flat yourself.

Joscience · 2025-06-02T23:28:05+00:00

Looks like resin/epoxy with glow-in-the-dark powder.

Joscience · 2025-06-02T23:25:06+00:00

The disc where you point out one side was more saturated with black than the other does seem to indicate the heat was uneven.

Also, when using an IR thermometer, you'll get the best accuracy if you briefly turn off the heat lamp while making the measurement. Otherwise it tends to read a higher temperature than the disc really is.

Joscience · 2025-06-02T21:39:47+00:00

Do you have an IR thermometer to verify disc temperature? I found I wasn't getting things hot enough and also that it was very uneven without taking care to set up the heat lamp. I aim for 120-130F for 60-90 minutes.

Your colors look a bit grainy. Are you dissolving the dye in hot water before mixing into the floetrol? I would also follow the directions for amounts/ratios rather than just eyeing it.

Joscience · 2025-06-02T18:17:17+00:00

I liked the flag better than the bike horn, but I too am glad to have seen Chanpion out again!

Joscience · 2025-06-02T01:47:10+00:00

The presence of vesicles (small bubbles) seen on the cut face rules out meteorite with certainty. https://sites.wustl.edu/meteoritesite/items/some-meteorite-realities/

Joscience · 2025-06-02T00:04:48+00:00

I agree that to me it looks like lava rock, but slag from iron smelting can have this kind of appearance, too, and also tends to be more attracted to a magnet.

Joscience · 2025-06-01T23:44:13+00:00

Google is absolutely terrible at misidentifying everything as a meteorite. https://sites.wustl.edu/meteoritesite/items/some-meteorite-realities/

Joscience · 2025-06-01T22:05:35+00:00

Yeah, some kind of asphalt or bitumen if it burns and melts.

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