[meteorite-list] What makes a hammer a hammer?

[Walter Branch]

Hello Mike,

Greetings from a foggy night in Georgia!

I created a list a while back of meteorites that had struck human, animals 
and man-made objects (what I called HAMs - Michael Blood extended the term 
to "hammers").  I did it for fun and to demonstrate the relationship between 
falls and population density.  It used to be on the IMCA website but I don't 
it there anymore.  I included witnessed falls which I believed had a 
reliable and valid reference.   If you want a copy of the table, I believe I 
still have a copy and can email it to you.

As to the issue of whether or not a given stone or iron actually hit 
something, I believe one can differentiate between a hammer stone (or iron) 
vs. a hammer fall.  A hammer stone would be the actual stone which hit 
something (e.g., Claxton) and a hammer fall meaning a least one stone of a 
given fall actually hitting something (e.g., Allende).

As to why someone may or may not describe a fall as a "hammer," some may 
simply be unaware of the status of a given fall (with regard to it actually 
hitting something) and some may play up other characteristics which are more 
scientifically interesting.  For example, Dave's reference to Murchison is 
correct.  Murchison is more widely known within the meteorite community as 
containing a variety of amino acids, rather than some fragments hitting 
something.  That is the reason most people purchase it (and why there is a 
very nice piece is my collection - thank you Michael Blood).

Some simply copy verbatim what others have written, without doing their own 
research.

Hope this helps.

-Walter Branch
_______________________

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Gilmer" <michael_w_gilmer at yahoo.com>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2009 7:32 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] What makes a hammer a hammer?


>
> Hi Listees,
>
> I have a quick question for the group - why are some falls not referred
> to as "hammers" ?
>
> For example, Allende and Holbrook are rarely referred to as hammers,
> but there are reports that both hit rooftops and other manmade
> structures.  Both falls are generally referred to as "historical" but
> rarely as hammers.  Is there a reason?  Is it because the historical
> element outweighs the hammer element in these cases?  Claxton is
> well known as a hammer, but historically-speaking it's otherwise
> unremarkable.  Is this simply semantics at play, or is there some
> kind of formula at work?
>
> Regards and clear skies,
>
> MikeG
>
> PS - Michael Blood, please email me offlist.
>
> .........................................................
> Michael Gilmer (Louisiana, USA)
> Member of the Meteoritical Society.
> Member of the Bayou Region Stargazers Network.
> Websites - http://www.galactic-stone.com and http://www.glassthrower.com
> MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/fine_meteorites_4_sale
> ..........................................................
>
>
>
>
>
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