Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to "Brought to the site in a tub"

Uh...
podrock — (archived)

Iron does not have to cool in a directed magnetic field to have magnetism. It just has to be placed in a magnetic field. Ever rub a nail with a magnet? What happens to the nail? Now heat the nail, is it still magnetic? You don't need extraordinary sources to magnetize iron.

As far as the XRD information, you'd need a couple hour study on the nature of clay mineral crystalography plus another couple of hours of x-ray defraction instruction to even begin to discuss this. It's been awhile since I have endured a lecture on clays or played with an XRD (I worked at a college that had a very old one ... scared the hell outta me) but here's a couple of things I do remember:

Clays expand and contract due to the water they can absorb. (strong enough to crush a foundation, BTW)

Clays have crystalline structures that are similar to mica, both being sheet silicates. Since mica weathers to clay, it is not uncommon to have samples that are a mix of clay and mica.

The Kubler Index attempts to remove the effect of water on the crystalline structure from the XRD signal by filling those water sites with something else.

The expert said: "...caused by dehydration..." That means it was dryer. Less water. Extraordinary! Or not.

I don't have the patience to go into the statistics as presented. (But sometime we need to have a discussion on sampling methods for your own investigations.)

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