[meteorite-list] OT: cubes and their history? Contest with Prize!!!

[Eduardo.]

Hi Dirk and list
I have in my collection two Nantan specimens with cubic crystals of 
Magnetite (I make an x-ray diffraction on them so I'm 100% sure)
I had a 300g specimen in my collection for about 7 years, one day after 
about 2 years, I picked it up and it split in two!, in the fracture, 
almost 50% of the new surface was covered by very sharp cubic 
microcristals, some of them somewhat iridiscent. I gave a sample to a 
friend who made the XRD and confirmed it was magnetite.
About 2 - 3 years ago at Tucson show a chinese dealer was selling very 
rusted nantan specimens, I checked em all and one of the pieces had lots 
of those cristals on the shale.
I don't know if this count for you as they are not in the meteorite 
itself but in the rusted shale part. But as I consider Hoba shale, and 
Santa Catharina as meteorites then for me this are cubic crystals in a 
meteorite. 
Eduardo

-----Original Message-----
From: drtanuki <drtanuki at yahoo.com>
To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 07:07:42 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [meteorite-list] OT: cubes and their history? Contest with 
Prize!!!

> List,
>   The NBS (Nationial Bureau of Standards) US maintains
> the  universal standard cubic centimeter as well as
> all standards, metric and US standards in their very
> precise, expensive and highly guarded collection. 
> Most likely many other countries have their own
> Standards collection.
>   The history of the use of a cube dates at least to
> 4000 B.C.? or earlier in Egyptian culture...in the
> form of dice? and building blocks; but was not only
> unique to their culture.  Early Chinese also had their
> standard cube by at least 2000 B.C.
>   The "idea" of the cube probably came from observing
> natural cubic pyrite or other minerials with a cubic
> habit.
>   The first use of the cube associated with meteorites
> perhaps was by the Japanese in Antartica.  Caveat: I
> may be incorrect.
>   Quiz: Do cubic forms exist in meteorites and in
> which minerials?  A prize will be rewarded for the
> most correct and detailed answer.  Thank you and cube
> on,  Dirk Ross....Tokyo
> 
> 
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