Tektite Source taffy-cored splashforms!

Stretch Tektites: Remember Nininger's broken taffy-cored boomerangs??? He sorted through 50,000 Indochinites to find two. In our second shipment, we found three that are unequivocal!!!! ---and we only had to look through 15,000 to find them!

March 7, 2006: A STRETCH MOLDAVITE!!! The first ever????

These are THE pivotal specimens in the ornamentation debate (flight ablation vs. terrestrial etching). Nininger argued that the skin splits and stretch-marked areas have, at most, experienced a few minutes less soil acid exposure than the tektite uplands, but these areas do not show hemispheric pitting. The pits clearly had already formed before the skin splits, which certainly formed while the tektite interior was still highly plastic. There may well be forms of tektite ornamentation (i.e., Besednice moldavites) that are related to soil acid etching, but Australasian pitting is related to aerodynamic ablation. Read it and weep.

Amazing new piece from Chlum nad Malsi, Czech Republic. I've never heard of another! Click on the picture to go to a dedicated page.

When it comes to Indochinites, these are about as rare as it gets.

These are tails of bladed teardrops. Probably due to collisions or impacts at a point when the skin was relatively brittle but the core was yet plastic, the skin broke and the interior stretched like taffy.

In the individual pictured in the upper image, a linear flow banding is visible on the reverse side that shows the same degree of bending as is implied by the "V"- shaped break in the front. ...SOLD...

The central example shows longitudinal stretching and slight torsion. Not for sale

The bottom one shows a simple elbow bend. SOLD

All these are gone, but I've left them posted for your information. Check out the next items below!

A New One for 2004!!!!!

Here's a museum piece to rival Nininger's! A fabulous teardrop at a monstrous 105.4 gms (my scale says 105.8 gms, but I'm quoting the original tag---). This specimen is a lei gong mo from the Maoming City area, Guangdong Province, China.

Here's a close-up of the skin split. It's a winner with subtle stretch lineations and a focal point at the center of the specimen!

In the left hand image of this pair, I have digitally closed the skin split to show the restored symmetry of the specimen. Note the coherent pattern of the restored skin ornamentation. Also, note the impact facet on the lower right. this big guy was severely battered while still plastic!

Here's a sketch dealing with the two-dimensional deformation character of this specimen. While the skin split indicates a 39 degree bend, the overall bend is more like 10 degrees in this view. The difference is probably explained by torsion: the bottom part is rotated counter-clockwise relative to the top as viewed from above.

If I like you: $1000.00 If you are Dr. David Wheeler, $10, 000 up front.
To order: email us at nlehrman@nvbell.net

New 2005 Discovery!
Here's your chance to acquire an extreme rarity at an unheard low cost. The skin is a bit more abraded than the others shown above, and for some reason, I'm feeling generous. Weight: 10.8 gms. Dimensions: 40.34mm X 17.27mm X 12.83mm. Lei gong mo from Guangdong Province, China. $~~350~~ Sold

Technical Tangent: Similar & Related Features

All of the images at the left are clickable for a bigger version. Close the resulting window to return here.

I am frequently asked whether something is a "stretch" tektite. The most common wannabe is the Starburst Ray skin split. Here is an example of an extreme splatform with such a feature. Clearly the brittle skin split while the interior was still plastic, equivalent to stretch tektites in all respects--BUT, not accorded that title in common usage. A "stretch" tektite seemingly requires an angular bend like Niningers original bent teardrops to be counted. See the big teardrop a couple of frames up. That's a totally classic stretch tektite!

Here's a similar feature, in this case part of a burst bubble. The semantic boundaries get pretty blurry, but I would not call this a "stretch" tektite.

While none would suggest this is a stretch anything, the technical message regarding skin ornamentation is the same as that told by the classic Nininger specimens. This is a popped bubble where a flap of the skin folded in on itself while still plastic and hot enough to fuse along the inner surface. Both surfaces have seen the same amount of terrestrial etching, but only the original exterior is pitted, suggesting that the skin pitting formed in the first minute or two of the tektite's existence and didn't change much thereafter.

If you got here via the Tektite Source front page, just close this window to return home. If you came in directly via a search engine, click on the following link to go to our front page: TektiteSource.com

To place orders, email us at nlehrman@nvbell.net

	A New One for 2004!!!!! Here's a museum piece to rival Nininger's! A fabulous teardrop at a monstrous 105.4 gms (my scale says 105.8 gms, but I'm quoting the original tag---). This specimen is a lei gong mo from the Maoming City area, Guangdong Province, China.
	Here's a close-up of the skin split. It's a winner with subtle stretch lineations and a focal point at the center of the specimen!
	In the left hand image of this pair, I have digitally closed the skin split to show the restored symmetry of the specimen. Note the coherent pattern of the restored skin ornamentation. Also, note the impact facet on the lower right. this big guy was severely battered while still plastic!
	Here's a sketch dealing with the two-dimensional deformation character of this specimen. While the skin split indicates a 39 degree bend, the overall bend is more like 10 degrees in this view. The difference is probably explained by torsion: the bottom part is rotated counter-clockwise relative to the top as viewed from above.
If I like you: $1000.00 If you are Dr. David Wheeler, $10, 000 up front.	To order: email us at nlehrman@nvbell.net

New 2005 Discovery!	Here's your chance to acquire an extreme rarity at an unheard low cost. The skin is a bit more abraded than the others shown above, and for some reason, I'm feeling generous. Weight: 10.8 gms. Dimensions: 40.34mm X 17.27mm X 12.83mm. Lei gong mo from Guangdong Province, China. $~~350~~ Sold

	All of the images at the left are clickable for a bigger version. Close the resulting window to return here. I am frequently asked whether something is a "stretch" tektite. The most common wannabe is the Starburst Ray skin split. Here is an example of an extreme splatform with such a feature. Clearly the brittle skin split while the interior was still plastic, equivalent to stretch tektites in all respects--BUT, not accorded that title in common usage. A "stretch" tektite seemingly requires an angular bend like Niningers original bent teardrops to be counted. See the big teardrop a couple of frames up. That's a totally classic stretch tektite!
	Here's a similar feature, in this case part of a burst bubble. The semantic boundaries get pretty blurry, but I would not call this a "stretch" tektite.
	While none would suggest this is a stretch anything, the technical message regarding skin ornamentation is the same as that told by the classic Nininger specimens. This is a popped bubble where a flap of the skin folded in on itself while still plastic and hot enough to fuse along the inner surface. Both surfaces have seen the same amount of terrestrial etching, but only the original exterior is pitted, suggesting that the skin pitting formed in the first minute or two of the tektite's existence and didn't change much thereafter.