[meteorite-list] triolite inclusions

[MexicoDoug at aol.com]

Hola Steve,
 
I think Tri-o-lite is a dead brand of the dead Urelite Corporation.
 
On the other hand, Troilite, named for the Italian Jesuita Abbé Domenico  
Troili of Villa Albareto meteorite fame.   The 1766 Italian  witnessed fall, 
Troili collected eyewitness accounts of what he actually  believed was a volcanic 
discharge into the atmosphere.     Troilite was named after him since he 
collected some of the stones - yes it was  first observed in "modern" times from 
the University of Modena, Ferrari town,  Italy, in this L5 stone meteorite.  
EvNot an iron meteorite.   Troilite's account led it to be understood as pyrite 
(fool's gold), but a few  decades later Howard of Howardite fame set the woirld 
straight on thatshowing it  was an iron sulfide but different from the 
earthly ones because it was  NON-magnetic, unlike the earthly counterparts.  Anyway 
in 1863 Troili got  the honor and it was named "Troilit" by Rose in Berlin 
after he  demonstrated that it was balanced FeS and recognized Troili's attempt 
at  description of it nearly one hundred years earlier.   In English,  Troilit 
would be Troilite...
 
So...Troilite is just a charged balanced Fe-S hexoganol pyrrhotite, in  other 
words, ferrous sulfide.  Why it gets into the iron meteorites to me  is a 
question with philosophical overtones like why is the sky blue.  The  stuff is 
found in many mines as pyrrhotite, the similar earthly mineral which  almost 
always has an excess of sulfur with it.  In other words, FeS iron  defficient 
where both have a plus two valence shell.  But if you look at it  another way, 
considering the interior of planetesimals iron meteorite foundries,  you might 
say the creator accidentally contaminated the iron with sulphur.   That is why 
if you grind the mineral your pet blobs can stink on ice like  rotten eggs.
 
Sulfur isn't the only contaminant in the meteoritical material.  There  is a 
host of stuff like Iriduim in traces, too.  Or oxygen in carbonaceous  
meteorites.  So where you get a nice oxide with oxygen, you might get a  nice sulfide 
with sulfur.  Putting the sulfur in the foundry and then  getting the 
blobules you like might be caused by physical events internal in the  meteoritical 
foundary.  Perhaps when all is molten to start with, the iron  nickel form a 
nice alloy not too miscible with the troilite, so they naturally  separate, just 
like you shaking up a bottle with oil and water and watching the  blobs form 
of the separate phases (aquaeous and organic).  Or perhaps the  high 
pressuressquish it into imperfections in the iron nickel alloy as it cools,  like 
squashing a Miller can in your hands, maybe it sort of aggregates  through the 
conduits that are available.  But that really isn't likely in  my opinion as the 
first, because they are usually rounded or spheroidal  indicating more of a 
miscibility (mix-separation) issue.  A sphere like  shape is formed because it 
minimizes the surface exposed for a given volume when  stuck in an unfriendly 
environment.  That's why babies are in the fetal  position and girlfriends too, 
when they are left cold and alone.:)  And  raindrops look that way and maybe 
tektites sort of, too...
 
Troilite by no means is limited to occur in iron meteorites, so the creator  
has contaminated stoney meteorites with it too, as was first observed  
meticulously by Troili.and there is some in the samples of lunar soil brought  back 
from the Apollo missions as well.
 
Hope this helps your thirst for knowledgof the rockin our  showcases....
Saludos and thanks for the Christmas present "freebee",  Doug