New Members Mikeyray Posted November 13 New Members Posted November 13 I have been digging this up for over a year. No one can tell Me what it is. I have them from micro to large, 150ish grams. Every piece is yellow inside. The edges have a green tint in light. Translucent and fluorescent. Best I can guess is Amber?? Please help identify.
Randyw Posted November 13 Posted November 13 It doesn’t appear to be amber to me…it kind of reminds me of serpentine. A fluorescent stone that can be yellow, green, etc etc….and is found in Tennessee. while there is amber from Tennessee it is very very rare…
New Members Mikeyray Posted November 13 Author New Members Posted November 13 It burns and doesn’t smell very good. This one here is still gooey
New Members Mikeyray Posted November 13 Author New Members Posted November 13 It’s also kinda fragile and shards
Kane Posted November 13 Posted November 13 Could be a resin based waste product. 1 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer
Mahnmut Posted November 13 Posted November 13 44 minutes ago, Mikeyray said: It burns and doesn’t smell very good. This one here is still gooey Still gooey points toward modern (synthetic) resin. 1 Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley
New Members Mikeyray Posted November 13 Author New Members Posted November 13 I was thinking modern also but the way it’s coming out of the ground, hard packed virgin dirt, I just really don’t know. I’ve read and read and searched and searched for over a year and a couple weeks ago, same area, different spot, I’m finding what I think is sea sponge? So now I can’t help but think it’s amber. It may not be but that’s the best I can match from the research I’ve done.
Randyw Posted November 13 Posted November 13 Definitely rules out Amber.gotta be some kind of modern resin material
val horn Posted November 13 Posted November 13 I think the white grey material looks like slag. Have you spoken to a local geology department?
New Members Mikeyray Posted November 13 Author New Members Posted November 13 Definitely not slag. It’s fossilized. No I haven’t. Would love to but don’t know where to go.
val horn Posted November 14 Posted November 14 Most state universities have geology departments. A test for amber is specific gravity. It should float on salt water, it should not melt with hot metal. There are chemical tests as well but they can be distructive and need expensive spectroscopy.
Ludwigia Posted November 14 Posted November 14 12 hours ago, Mikeyray said: Would love to but don’t know where to go. Since you've been working at this for over a year, I'm sure that you would really like to get to the bottom of this, right? The majority of my colleagues here tend to the opinion that this is modern resin material, but one is only going by photos and descriptions here, so you probably aren't 100% sure about this. I would suggest that you get in touch with a geologist at the Middle Tennessee Museum of Natural History and see if you can make an appointment for a hands on assessment of some of your finds. It's only about a 2 hour drive away from Benton county. Good luck! Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/
New Members Mikeyray Posted November 25 Author New Members Posted November 25 On 11/13/2024 at 11:59 PM, val horn said: Most state universities have geology departments. A test for amber is specific gravity. It should float on salt water, it should not melt with hot metal. There are chemical tests as well but they can be distructive and need expensive spectroscopy. It passes all of these tests. Also acetone doesn’t hurt it at all
Randyw Posted November 25 Posted November 25 On 11/13/2024 at 5:23 AM, Mikeyray said: It burns and doesn’t smell very good. This one here is still gooey This post of yours rules out amber entirely….
Randyw Posted November 25 Posted November 25 (edited) Here is a real piece of amber and the same piece of amber after i heated it with a BLOWTORCH . It gave a light piney/campfire kind of scent….. from getty.edu Amber’s hardness varies from 2 to 3 on the Mohs scale (talc is 1 and diamond 10). This relative softness means that amber is easily worked. It has a melting-point range of 200 to 380°C, but it tends to burn rather than melt. Amber is amorphous in structure and, if broken, can produce a conchoidal, or shell-like, fracture. It is a poor conductor and thus feels warm to the touch in the cold, and cool in the heat. When friction is applied, amber becomes negatively charged and attracts lightweight particles such as pieces of straw, fluff, or dried leaves. Its ability to produce static electricity has fascinated observers from the earliest times. Amber’s magnetic property gave rise to the word electricity: amber (Greek, elektron) was used in the earliest experiments on electricity.41 Amber’s natural properties inspired myth and legend and dictated its usage. Edited November 25 by Randyw Clarified statement and added text
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now