Have we any geologists here? Now with photos.

[Steve Maskery]

Thank you. And to think, I once taught Physics

S

 

[MikeG.]

Thanks Drea!

The maths is more interesting than the result..........which is skewed by the mass being incorrect by a factor of about 4, maybe 5, at a guess.

Mike

 

[head clansman]

hi mike

sure it's not radio active mike :wink: if it is maybe your eyes will light up and your bits turn green nah it's a bit of nutty slack .hc

 

[Drea]

Thanks Drea!

The maths is more interesting than the result..........which is skewed by the mass being incorrect by a factor of about 4, maybe 5, at a guess.

Mike

Yup, that'll be down to the volume calculation. It's easier to work out for a sphere than a random blob.

The happy part is that kinetic energy changes linearly with mass (half the mass, half the energy). So the real answer might closer to 1 or 2 tons of TNT.

 

[MikeG.]

Of course, what we are forgetting is that there are two masses: the mass that hits the top of the atmosphere, and the mass that arrives at the earth's surface. By the time the thing has super-heated and exploded its way through the air to the surface, it would be very much reduced in mass, and speed.

Nonetheless, a couple of tonnes of TNT would be quite a sizeable bang!

Mike

 

[Mailman14]

PETE - nope!

Just read Angels and Demons, and that theory is out for a start - would more likely be a conical / "oblate spheroid, if anything, with defined striations on the longer cone surface...

This, to me, is a lump of slag, interesting, but not valuable by any means, unless you've a jackhammer, and make it into shards for decoration on a path?

All personal belief, ignore as you wish :lol:

 

[Tom K]

Could it be the result of a lightning strike? Or even the aftermath of one
of the many plane crashes (WW2) in that area. I would think a combination of glass, iron,ammunition and aviation fuel could produce some unusual lumps in the ground.

 

[Benchwayze]

Looks to be of volcanic origin to me Mike. It could be Obsidian (Black glass!). Very useful for making telescope mirrors, being stable, workable takes a silver coat and doesn't allow the light to pass through the coating and the glass!

I have a small piece of what I believe is red basalt. Makes a useful little paperweight.

John

 

[Tom K]

Looks to be of volcanic origin to me Mike. It could be Obsidian

John

Yes part of a lava flow from Mount Halstead no doubt :lol:

 

[Dave S]

Looks to be of volcanic origin to me Mike. It could be Obsidian

John

Yes part of a lava flow from Mount Halstead no doubt :lol:

Jesting aside, there is quite a bit of volcanic rock in East Anglia, transported here by the glaciers.

For a Quaternary geologist, there is much of interest in this part of the country. The physical geography is very much a function of the glacial past - a lesser known fact is that the river Thames used to flow near Ipswich and reached the sea somewhere near Lowestoft.

Dave

 

[Tom K]

Hi Dave, considering the location if transported by glacier would you expect that sort of bubbly lumpen look (or is that just mud clinging to it)

 

[Benchwayze]

I wern't jesting Dave! LOl!

A nice thick piece of polished Obsidian would make a great flattening plate!

If I could afford any!


John

 

[Benchwayze]

I think you'll find that bubbly effect is just how it cooled Tom.

It could have been trapped in ice in the glacier, and was merely deposited as the ice melted, rather than being dragged along and worm smooth.

John

 

[Tom K]

Gosh it would certainly have been something wouldn't it :shock:
To have been spewn from a volcano in either Scotland or Iceland and transported in its just cooled state to the very edge of the glacier unaltered through thousands of years.
Just a thought but given the high incidence of flint in the area if it is a large rock wouldn't it more than likely be that if anything?

 

[BradNaylor]

For a Quaternary geologist, there is much of interest in this part of the country.

If not for anyone else?

:lol:

 

[Benchwayze]

Ok Tommo.
I bow to you superior knowledge.
! :lol:

Cheers
John

 

[MikeG.]

For a Quaternary geologist, there is much of interest in this part of the country.

If not for anyone else?

:lol:

Come on Brad, you can do better than that.

Essex north of Braintree and towards the coast south of Colchester/Chelmsford has some of the most wonderful countryside and pretty villages in the whole of the country. "Constable country" is in Essex. I work about a mile from Flatford Mill, where Constable painted his most famous works, and it isn't just that area that is exactly the same now as it was then. Maldon is gorgeous, for instance. I work mainly with listed and historic buildings......we have squillions of them in Essex. Pretty little timber framed thatched buildings are ten a penny.

Why don't you pack your bike and head down here for a cycle touring holiday.....there is hardly anywhere better in the country to tour around on a bike. Amongst other things, we only get about 20 inches of rain a year........less than, say Jerusalem. So the odds are that your holiday won't be spoiled by the weather. Drop in to my workshop on your way through!

Mike

 

[Tom K]

Ok Tommo.
I bow to you superior knowledge.
! :lol:

Cheers
John

Aw..don't do that. Its just that your Obsidian idea sounds a bit like Ian Flemings childhood discovery of a large piece of Ambergris.