On February 15, 2013, a loud event took place in Chelyabinsk in every sense. A meteorite flew over the city in the sky.
It exploded at an altitude of 23 km, after which Chelyabinsk was covered by a shock wave. Broken windows, burns, cuts – fortunately, there were no casualties and global destruction.
Scientists from Germany, Russia and South Korea have discovered carbon microcrystals in the dust of the Chelyabinsk meteorite, which take various unusual forms.
When a meteorite enters the atmosphere, dust is formed due to high temperatures and pressure. These particles have become the subject of attention of scientists, a study by an international group of researchers published in The European Physical Journal Plus. The Chelyabinsk meteorite is unique in its size, the intensity of the air explosion in which it exploded, the size of the largest fragments that fell to the ground, and the damage it caused. In addition, he fell on the snow-covered ground, and the snow helped keep his dust intact.
Unusual crystals in the dust have a size of only a micrometer (one millionth of a meter – ed.), so it was difficult to detect them. They were examined using a scanning electron microscope. It turned out that the elements have unique features and can take closed, quasi-spherical forms, appear in the form of hexagonal rods.
Subsequent analysis showed that it was graphite of an exotic shape. Scientists have suggested that the structures were formed by repeatedly adding graphene layers to carbon clusters. Scientists have studied the process of crystal formation and identified two elements that could make this happen. It is assumed that the study of the elements will help determine the origin of other meteorites.