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Of all the meteorites that land on Earth's surface that are let's say pebble to fist sized, what fraction are for practical purposes non-magnetic1?

I think the number is around 10 or 20% but so far I haven't found a good source.

One challenge to getting a number is that theres a lot of bias; some people drag magnets around or use metal detectors and will miss the ones with low nickel/iron, and some people look in the top layers of snow in Antarctica and the dark ones might get warmer and sink quicker into the snow/ice.

Therefore with so much bias it might be hard to find a clear, authoritative answer. But maybe there is one.

Question: What fraction of meteorites found on Earth are for practical purposes non-magnetic?


1hold a small pocket or field magnet to it and don't notice any attractive force

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    $\begingroup$ MIght be fun to extend this to all non-orbiting (the sun) objects for which we can estimate atomic content via remote (spectral, etc) analysis. $\endgroup$ Commented Aug 31, 2022 at 12:57
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    $\begingroup$ What do you mean by practical purposes - What practical purpose do you envisage a meteorite being put to? $\endgroup$
    – Chenmunka
    Commented Aug 31, 2022 at 14:29
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    $\begingroup$ @Chenmunka That's what the footnote attempts to clarify: "practical" in the sense of "practical for someone to test without specialist equipment", as opposed to "chemically provable to exhibit zero magnetism". $\endgroup$
    – IMSoP
    Commented Aug 31, 2022 at 14:42
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    $\begingroup$ From the way I've heard collectors talk, I'd put it at a fraction of a percent, for ones that are actually found. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 1, 2022 at 3:01
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    $\begingroup$ @GregMiller see the "bias" section of my question. Were you able to ascertain from their talk what methods and methodologies they used to search, collect, and identify their meteorites? If they were looking for dark metallic chunks with a bit of surface melting, or using a metal detector or dragging magnets behind them, then we can quickly guess that their results are so low for that reason alone. $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Commented Sep 1, 2022 at 3:43

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