[Otto Nobedder]

Turbo388,

Sand sounds like the perfect capture medium. Thanks for the suggestion. I have access to very clean sand used in our media blasting.

Steve

[Otto Nobedder]

Jon, I believe I have enough information now (thanks to turbo388's suggestion) to begin collecting some samples, beginning Monday. I'll create as broad an array as I have the materials and equipment for.

If it's not obvious yet, I'm familiar with the scientific method, and the samples will be annotated as accurately as I am able.

Steve.

[turbo388]

The last photo I posted? I have no idea, just another one of the weird things that inhabit my back yard. That one is about 3cm x 5cm oblong, very light, and non-magnetic.

[ProjectStardust]

Thank you very much! And yes, Steve, that is obvious...!
Jon

[Otto Nobedder]

Jon,

Another thought occurred to me, and it might take some time to achieve results.

Suppose a bank of magnets, covering, say, a square meter and covered with a thin UV-resistant plastic film were placed film-side-up 10 meters above ground level in a rural (or at least a non-industrial) area. Barring a major wind storm, any particles captured by this bank of magnets would very likely have extraterrestrial origins, and provide a clear control group.

Further, an accumulation rate per square meter could be deduced for iron-bearing micrometeorites.

The plastic film would provide for easy collection.

Just a thought...

Steve

[kermdawg]

Im curious to see the results of otto's experiment with the magnets just to see how many particles -wouldnt- be extraterrestrial. What im saying is how much of that dust we're breathing is actually metal, or ferrous.

[Otto Nobedder]

kermdog,

That might be an interesting experiment entirely on it's own. I suggested height and rural isolation to reduce any man-made contribution. It might be interesting to set up a magnet-capture in the heart of an urban or industrial area, and, as you suggest, see how much ferrous material is in the air. While it wouldn't tell us how much of the non-ferrous metals are present, we might be able to infer them, as a percentage of industrial production relative to iron. We breath a lot of crap every day. I have to believe people in industrial areas breath a lot more of it.

Steve

[kermdawg]

I was thinking the same thing. I would also love to set one up one a jobsite with alot of weldin goin on, I mean you see how much of that metal dust ends up on the ground. I wonder how much stays in the air that we actually breath.

Obvoiusly you couldnt set it up close to where actual welding and stuff is going on, but like you said, 50 or 100 feet in the air around the site.

[turbo388]

Set one up near railroad tracks and it would look like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wooly_Willy

(way off topic but slightly related: Am I the only one who keeps a salvaged NIB hard drive magnet in the tool box for collecting the iron filings that inevitably end up stuck to my eyeballs? They're nickel plated, very smooth, and work great as long as you keep them clean, like in a little ziplock baggie.)

[kermdawg]

Maybe

Im trying to find a pair of tight goggles that wont fog up to wear under my face shield when Im grinding. As anyone whos ever used one knows, if you wear a faceshield over your hardhat and grind/drill, then look up, you get a pair of eyes full of crap every time. Safety glasses dont do a damn thing no matter what kind they are.

[Otto Nobedder]

...Obvoiusly you couldnt set it up close to where actual welding and stuff is going on, but like you said, 50 or 100 feet in the air around the site.

Why not stick a magnet right inside your hood, right in front of your nose, and see how much it accumulates in a day? Just as a personal experiment?

The answer may scare you, especially if there's a lot of grinding near you. In fact, you might just keep the magnet there.

Steve

[kermdawg]

Oh I got a pretty good idea of how much crap I inhale everyday. Im curious as to see if it spreads outside the jobsite, or if it stays neatly contained inside the building.

Honestly though, the magnet on the welding hood isnt the worst of ideas. I wonder if it is worth a shot now.

[Otto Nobedder]

Since we are diverging from Jon's original topic, I'll start a new thread on this subject.

Steve

[kermdawg]

I dunno, Jon might like all the attention his thread is getting. I think its the longest in forum history

[ProjectStardust]

It's all linked together: the main part of the micrometeorites that is reaching Earth are so small that they drift around in the atmosphere (= aerosole particles). Nasa scientists collect micrometeorites from the upper atmosphere by plane. And I remember having read someones estimate on how many micrometeorites each one of us actually will swollow in our sleep during a lifetime - think it was two. The problem with aerosole micrometeorites is that they are so small (~1-20 microns), very difficult to handle. In my own research I've put a limit downwards to 500 micron (half millimeter), which, in comparison, is easy to see and handle.

My old man was a professional welder his whole life, plus chainsmoking, so I worried about his lungs - actually mostly because of the welding, etc. However, now he's 85, and still no problems with his lungs!

[ogorir]

also slightly off-topic, but if you put a soaking wet rag under whatever you're cutting, the slag forms almost perfect hollow spheres about 1/4" in diameter. at least they do cutting 3/8" plate with oxy-acetylene.

[ProjectStardust]

I would love see a few of those! (Address: Jon Larsen, PO Box 5202 Majorstua, 0302 Oslo). This may one of the culprits. Thanks again! This is very, very interesting!