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Hot Topic (More than 10 Replies) What in the World? (Read 3540 times)
JoeM
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What in the World?
Sep 19th, 2016 at 8:26pm
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here's one for you.........
This is a piece of petrified wood John cut and flat lapped for a while
and then set it up on a shelf in his shop for a year or two.
It "may" be local NC or SC petrified wood, but sine he did not collect it himself, he's not 100% positive.
When he pulled it down and looked at it recently, it had Grown!
Or, this one spot anyway. Shocked
  

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Scott LaBorde
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Re: What in the World?
Reply #1 - Sep 20th, 2016 at 1:18am
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What in the world is right. That ones got me stumped!
  

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Collin
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Re: What in the World?
Reply #2 - Sep 20th, 2016 at 8:45am
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Joe, this same thing happened to me a long time ago when someone gave me a bag of petrified wood.  Found the bag a few years later and it grew.  I probably shouldn't have tasted it but it very acidic.  Not sure why it happens  Roll Eyes

-Collin
  
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Re: What in the World?
Reply #3 - Sep 20th, 2016 at 12:05pm
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The fungus among us.

Is it feasible that organic material was preserved in place and protected in a sealed silica based shell. Once the outer "shell" was compromised from cutting/polishing. When exposed to air and moisture again, it sprouted.

That's my thought.

-Dave
  
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Re: What in the World?
Reply #4 - Sep 20th, 2016 at 12:58pm
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It's interesting that the growth popped up some thin sections of polished pet wood.

It may be NC wood, but I've never seen pet wood that looked just like that piece.  It reminds me of western pet wood from Wyoming, Idaho and other states.
  
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JoeM
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Re: What in the World?
Reply #5 - Sep 20th, 2016 at 4:28pm
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I thought it was strange enough for a post. Glad y'all agree! Smiley

Dennis- John got this piece from a rockhound we know that has spent a lot of time collecting pet wood in NC and SC, but he has also collected out west at times.
We have seen wood that looks like this from NC, but have also seen wood like this from the northwest.
We suspect it is NC, but just not 100% sure.

Dave- That's what I was wondering. If it was some little pocket that just needed room to breath?

But what is the white growth? Some sort of silica formation?
Mark guessed Aragonite, which I thought was a good guess, but I have one more question.

Collin- First off, maybe we could get you to come by and lick this thing and tell us how it tastes. Cheesy
But what I'm really wondering is, do you remember if that bag of pet wood you had that did something similar as this was tumble polished? I'm guessing it was. Wink
  
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Scott LaBorde
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Re: What in the World?
Reply #6 - Sep 21st, 2016 at 9:07am
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Okay after a bit of sleuthing I think I've zero'd in on what may be happening.  Pyrite disease or "rot".  Pyrite is a common and persistent mineral in sedimentary rocks, metamorphic, and igneous rocks. When it breaks down it forms acid. Depending on the matrix surrounding it a variety of reactions or products can form. So first the acid is formed from the pyrite then a secondary reaction or efflorescence occurs. Efflorescence is a crystalline deposit on surfaces of masonry, stucco or concrete. It is whitish in appearance, and is sometimes referred to as "whiskers". Efflorescence has been a problem for many years, and is a topic of much controversy. The formation of these salt deposits are not mysteries. Here's a few resources you can read up on this reaction.   

http://vertpaleo.org/For-Members/Preparators-Resources/Preparators-Resources-PDF...

http://www.mindat.org/mesg-6-36559.html

Pyrite oxidation is also known as pyrite ‘disease’, pyrite ‘rot’, and pyrite ‘decay’, and it is caused and accelerated by the presence of oxygen and water. In this condition pyrite undergoes rapid oxidation;
4FeS2 (pyrite) + 13O2 (oxygen) + 2H2O (water) --> 4FeSO4 (ferrous sulphate) + 2H2SO4 (sulphuric acid) + 2SO2 (sulphur dioxide)
  

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JoeM
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Re: What in the World?
Reply #7 - Sep 21st, 2016 at 1:00pm
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Very good, Scott, and thanks for providing all the links.
Pyrite disease was the first thing I thought of, too, since it is a common problem to many museum curators.
But because I know that John, and other tumblers and flat-lappers, sometimes use diatomaceous earth as a pre-polish ingredient,
I was just wondering if that played any role in the "irregular" non-fibrous look of the "white-stuff".
I cannot find any connection there so the pyrite disease is probably the lone culprit.
John must have cut through a nice little pocket of pyrite, or marcasite, and then sitting on a shelf in his non-climate controlled workshed
you could probably measure the growth in the humid months of June, July, and August.

Here are some close-ups I tried to take showing the pyrite/marcasite.
The first pic shows the whole area I tried to zoom in on. There is a shiny patch in the middle of the white efflorescence
and the next two pics are different attempts to get the camera to focus down on that surface.
The pyrite/marcasite has more of the golden color in sunlight but notice the rows of small "dots" it forms along the grain of the wood.
The last pic is a patch in the top right of the first pic.
I hope you can make something out of them.
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JoeM
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Re: What in the World?
Reply #8 - Sep 21st, 2016 at 1:23pm
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And, Scott, researching the different forms of this white efflorescence caused by pyrite disease
I came across these pics/videos of fibroferrite.
I'm thinking this, or something very similar, could be what's in that one
heavily included cluster from the Cemetery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9NB1jaz2As
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcLWUyIACkg
  
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Re: What in the World?
Reply #9 - Sep 22nd, 2016 at 10:46pm
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I had a similar thing happen to some pyrite blobs that I collected in some lignite from the Neuse River.  I kept them in a small zip lock bag for a couple of years and recently noticed that they were covered in fine white growth.  They smell like iron and that smell will linger on your skin even after washing well with soap and water.  I assume it is not something to mess with.  I didn't think to taste it Smiley Tongue
  
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Scott LaBorde
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Re: What in the World?
Reply #10 - Sep 25th, 2016 at 10:13pm
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JoeM wrote on Sep 21st, 2016 at 1:23pm:
And, Scott, researching the different forms of this white efflorescence caused by pyrite disease
I came across these pics/videos of fibroferrite.
I'm thinking this, or something very similar, could be what's in that one
heavily included cluster from the Cemetery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9NB1jaz2As
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcLWUyIACkg


Speaking of which.  Here's a piece I polished.
  

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JoeM
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Re: What in the World?
Reply #11 - Sep 26th, 2016 at 8:43pm
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Well, that looks more like rutile now doesn't it? Good job!
It's nice to get a good look at the stuff and that close-up is the best look at it yet.

But there were some things I read about the fibroferrite that sounded
very suitable for the environment the crystal was found in.
And the minerals that were there are all oxides now. Hard to say.

But, now that I get a good look at, I won't argue if you want to call it rutile. Wink
  
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JoeM
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Re: What in the World?
Reply #12 - Jan 30th, 2021 at 11:49pm
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I stumbled across this on page 9 and just wanted to bump it back up.
There might be something to add.

For instance, the rows of small dots in the pyrite could indicate the cell structure of a Conifer tree? (Which I recently happened to be talking with dave64 about.)
  
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Re: What in the World?
Reply #13 - Jan 31st, 2021 at 11:37am
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That's definitely odd and really cool!  Shocked Cheesy I'd keep it going, put it back in the exact same conditions and photograph the progress over the years. It does resemble fungi that grows on trees in one of those pictures and it happens to be on petrified wood, that's so cool!
  
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Re: What in the World?
Reply #14 - Mar 28th, 2021 at 10:07pm
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The Baltimore area is under pinned  by the Baltimore Gniess.  The gneiss is peppered with arsenopyrite.  The gneiss was used for building stone .Over the past century, the weather has been saturatingthis building material with water. You can tell which bloks contain the most pyriteby the rust stain stretching down towards the ground.On close examination the gneissis covered with very small crystals either white or slightly yellow . When heated you get a distinct sulphur odor.. In some cases the block is near disintegration, when it gets that bad it's more a case of exfoliation and not chemical brakedown. I also have jasper nodules that are half jasper and half
pyrite, these show pyrite disease almost immediately on breaking them .
I like the rutilated quartz, it's become something of a specialty of mine
  
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