ORNL-시놉시스: 금속 표본 분석

ORNL Synopsis: Analysis of a Metallic Specimen

Synopsis:
Analysis of a Metallic Specimen

Introduction
The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) sponsored a series of measurements on a layered material
specimen primarily composed of magnesium and zinc, with bands of bismuth and other co-located trace elements.
The material specimen, whose origin and purpose are of long and debated history, is claimed to be recovered
from an unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) crash in or around 1947. Furthermore, the specimen’s
physiochemical properties are claimed to make the material capable of “inertial mass reduction” (i.e., levitation or
antigravity functionality), possibly attributable to the material’s bismuth and magnesium layers acting as a terahertz
waveguide.
Previously, US Army Combat Capabilities Development
Command (DEVCOM) established a Cooperative
Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with
To the Stars Academy (TTSA) to evaluate the feasibility
of exploiting any potential disruptive technology
associated with this widely discussed specimen.
AARO, founded in 2022, is congressionally mandated to
explore historical records of UAP incidents and publicly
report its findings. Although the long chain of custody
for this specimen cannot be verified, public and media
interest in the specimen warranted a transparent
investigation that adhered to the scientific method.
Subsequent to the TTSA–DEVCOM CRADA, AARO
secured science and technology partner Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL), one of 17 US Department
of Energy national laboratories, to independently
assess and perform thorough characterization studies
on the specimen, leveraging ORNL’s 80-year history of
Figure 1. View of the as-received bulk specimen. Sticker
world-leading materials science expertise.
containing internal sample tracking information edited out
for public release.
ORNL, an expert in materials characterization, has the
diverse staff expertise and co-located, powerful instrumentation suites to allow rigorous scientific inquiry beyond
the capabilities of most individual laboratories. Therefore, it is a highly qualified institution to maintain scientific
integrity in its unbiased analysis of this specimen and its properties.
AARO tasked ORNL with assessing whether (1) the specimen is of terrestrial origin and (2) the bismuth in the
specimen could act as a terahertz waveguide. DEVCOM Ground Vehicle System Center provided ORNL access
to the metallic specimen—a single parent sample and three previously derived subsamples, all from the same
material—beginning in February 2023.
ORNL materials science analyses evaluated the sample’s structure, chemical composition, and isotope ratios via
multiple methods, including microscopy, spectroscopy, and spectrometry. Results align with previous DEVCOM
analyses, indicating that the structure and composition of the bismuth layers do not meet the requirements
necessary to serve as a terahertz waveguide. Furthermore, all data strongly support that the material is terrestrial
in origin.
Synopsis: Analysis of a Metallic Specimen
1

Methods
All analyses and materials utilization were authorized and overseen by TTSA via the DEVCOM CRADA, and all
analyses were preapproved by AARO and DEVCOM before ORNL received the specimen.
Morphology and microstructural characteristics were investigated using the following techniques.
• Optical microscopy: standard microscope analysis that allows imaging of microstructural features.
• Computerized tomography, aka CT scan: X-ray imaging procedure that produces a 3D image of a sample
without damaging it, revealing interior structural features.
• Scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS): technique that produces 2D
images at higher resolution to allow analysis of microstructure and elemental makeup.
• (Scanning) transmission electron microscopy–energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy ([S]TEM-EDS): a suite
of techniques that pass a high-energy (e.g., 200 kV) electron beam through a thin (<200 nm) foil of sample,
allowing analysis of crystal structure, grain and feature morphology, and defects, as well as elemental
makeup, all with nanometer to subnanometer resolution.
Analyses of bulk chemical, elemental, and isotopic composition used mass spectrometry techniques, a suite of
widely used analytical techniques that identify elements, their abundance within a sample (including very trace
quantities), and their isotopic composition.
Traceable quality control standards and method blanks were run throughout all analyses to monitor sample integrity
and instrument performance.
Results
Morphology and Structure
Data are consistent across multiple imaging approaches,
showing that the material consists of distinct layers
that merge and diverge at various points throughout the
material.
Interfaces showed fractures and other features that
ORNL determined are consistent with a material that was
originally whole but was strained by heat exposure and
mechanical forces, possibly for extended periods. Figure
2 shows images of the specimen constructed using CT.
Table 1. Trace element
ELEMENT AVERAGE composition of the
Bi 3813 specimen (sans the Figure 2. Images produced via CT showing multiple
Pb 2859 bulk magnesium-zinc angles of the bulk specimen, showcasing features
matrix), in decreasing including the layer nature of the material (bottom left)
Tl 215.13
order of abundance. and edge with probable heat damage (bottom right).
Fe 55.1
All are considered
Cd 36.96 “trace,” at less than
Chemical Composition
Mn 28.99 0.1% abundance. Gray
Analysis using SEM-EDS determined that magnesium
reflects results from
Au 10.618
inductively coupled and zinc are the primary elements present in the
Mo 0.5922
plasma optical specimen, comprising approximately 97.5% and 2%
Sn 0.1328 emission spectroscopy of the material, respectively. Minor elements detected
Ва 0.0465 (ICP-OES); Blue reflects
(Table 1) were lead (Pb) and bismuth (Bi) (Figure 3),
results from high-
Units: trace elements are in parts per million with lesser trace amounts of iron (Fe) and manganese
(micrograms per gram of sample) resolution ICP-MS.
Synopsis: Analysis of a Metallic Specimen
2

(Mn). Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), the most sensitive analysis technique performed,
additionally revealed the presence of small amounts of cadmium (Cd), thallium (Tl), gold (Au), molybdenum (Mo),
tin (Sn), and barium (Ba). If a detected element abundance fell beneath the lower bound of the calibration curve or
below the method detection limit, then the element is not displayed in Table 1 because that element was extremely
unlikely to have been a purposeful addition to the manufacturing process.
BSE C Wt% Mg Wt%
200μm
100 100
50 50
0 0
Zn Wt% Pb Wt% Bi Wt%
5
5 5
0 0 0
Figure 3: Backscattered electron image (BSE, top left) and energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDS) maps
from one subsample (SEM beam energy: 30 kV), presented as estimated weight percent (minor elements not
shown, so numbers will not total 100%). Carbon (C) map indicates the embedding epoxy. The magnesium
matrix (Mg) is clearly visible, along with the cracks in the matrix. The zinc (Zn) map shows regions of higher
and lower zinc content. At the top of the lead (Pb) and bismuth (Bi) maps, co-located layers are visible.
(Figure 5 presents additional imaging of the banded element composition, showing multiple Pb–Bi layers.)
Crystalline Structures
TEM revealed that the crystalline structure of magnesium in the specimen was consistent with common magnesium
alloy structures (Figure 4). Laser ablation ICP-MS revealed banding of the zinc components, along with layered co-
location of lead and bismuth (in an approximate 1:1 ratio) in the bands. The bismuth-rich portions of the specimen
lacked a clear crystalline structure, instead appearing to consist of highly nanocrystalline pockets in an otherwise
amorphous matrix (Figure 4).
Pure single-crystalline bismuth in a single thin layer has been postulated to have the ability to function as a waveguide,
a material that can disrupt or direct an electric or energy field—in this case, terahertz waves (electromagnetic waves
with microscale wavelengths). Although the damage to the specimen (including suspected heat stress) precludes
a definitive statement describing the specimen’s original structure, the amorphous and nanocrystalline appearance
of the bismuth in the examined layers of the current specimen likely indicates that a pure crystalline layer of bismuth
was never present within the material.
Moreover, the postulated structure of such a theoretical bismuth-based waveguide requires it to be in a single
layer between a material possessing a different dielectric constant. However, multiple bismuth layers throughout
a material have not been postulated to be capable of achieving or improving this waveguide functionality—in fact,
multiple layers could instead interfere with such functionality. Thus, the layered nature of the impure bismuth within
the specimen likely precludes it from acting as a waveguide (Figure 5).
Synopsis: Analysis of a Metallic Specimen
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Finally, based on the postulated hypothetical uses of bismuth, the dielectric properties necessary for bismuth to
function as a waveguide would have been disrupted in this material because the bismuth in the specimen is co-
located and mixed with lead (Figures 3 and 5). Based on these findings ORNL determined that this material is highly
unlikely to have ever functioned as a bismuth-based terahertz waveguide.
(a) (b)
5 μm 5 nm-1
Bi2O3
(c) (d)
γ =3.0
5 μm 5 nm-1
Bi
Figure 4: (a) TEM micrograph of a single-crystalline region from the bulk of the sample; structural defects are visible at
this level of resolution (this figure is showing an area that represents just 2 to 3 pixels of the area shown in Figure 3). The
vertical lines at the bottom are a focused ion beam preparation artifact. (b) Selected area electron diffraction pattern
(SAEDP) from the region in (a), indexed to the standard Mg structure. (c) A low-magnification montage TEM micrograph
of an area showing a dense bismuth-rich layer (dark central band). (d) A SAEDP from a bismuth-rich band. The electron
diffraction pattern (with image processing γ=3.0) from the bismuth-rich region is shown in the white rings. Both bismuth
(Bi, yellow) and BiO (red) calculated ring patterns are shown for comparison; Bi is a slightly better match. The diffraction
2 3
indicates that the bismuth layer is nanocrystalline and highly defective.
Synopsis: Analysis of a Metallic Specimen
4

Figure 5. Laser ablation ICP-MS elemental maps. (Top) Colocation of lead (green), bismuth (blue), and zinc (red), the three
primary minor elements in the material. Blending of colors indicates co-location: teal indicates the nearly 1:1 ratio of lead
to bismuth. (Bottom) Elemental map of bismuth concentration (hot [yellow] = more, cool [purple] = less). Bismuth is most
concentrated at the top but is present in many repeating layers.
Isotope Analysis
Multicollector ICP-MS analysis showed that the specimen’s magnesium and lead isotope composition is consistent
with other materials manufactured and used terrestrially (Figures 6 and 7). Isotopes are varying forms of the same
element with differing mass, and their proportions affect the chemical properties of and reveal information about
the history of the material within which the isotopes are found. All elements have isotopes, and the ratio between
the amounts of various isotopes is called the isotopic signature, which is akin to a fingerprint in chemical analyses.
The magnesium isotopic signature of the specimen is fractionated (possibly owing to the mechanical and heat
strain that the material appears to have undergone) but falls within normal terrestrial compositions and precisely
within the expected trendlines of fractionation (Figure 6). Each star system has a magnesium isotopic composi tion
that was inherited from its local star-forming region. Figure 6 shows the magne sium isotopic signature of various
materials originating within our solar system. The straight lines in the bottom graphic representation are the kinetic
and equilibrium mass fractionation trendlines, which define the types of isotopic shifts incurred on the basis of
mass. Fractionation occurs due to chemical reactions and physical processes (e.g., manufacturing and mining)
and is normal during the lifespan of natural and manufactured ma terials and their components. The materials in
Figure 6—including the specimen—fall on or near the fractionation trendlines, strongly indicating that their starting
compositions were once the same and have been systematically changed as a result of mass fractionation. If a ma-
terial originated outside our solar system, its magnesium isotopic signature could plot nearly anywhere in the top
graphic representation of Figure 6—ins tead, the specimen’s data plots it precisely within the expected fractionation
trendlines for known compositions specific to our solar system.
Less complexly, the lead isotopic signature of this specimen is fully consistent with “common lead” compositions
that exist naturally on Earth and within terrestrial materials (Figure 7), distinctly separate from even lunar materials,
indicating it is extremely likely that the material originated on Earth.
Synopsis: Analysis of a Metallic Specimen
5

-400 -200 0 200 400
UP TO 1400
-200 200
UP TO 1,000
0 δ25Mg (‰) 0
UP TO 5.0 X 105
UP TO 1.5 X 106
UP TO 5.0 X 105
Graphite HD - low metal AGB
-200 Graphite LD - Super Nova 200
Group 1 - low to intermediate mass Red Giant or AGB star
UP TO 750
Group 2 - low/very low-mass AGB star
Group 3 - low mass, low metallicity
δ26Mg (‰) Group 4 - Super Nova
-400 400
0
4
δ25Mg (‰)
2
0
-8
-4
-6
-8
-10
δ26Mg (‰)
-12
-22 -17 -12 -7 -2 0
Equilibrium fractionation Meteorites Seawater DOW metal
Kinetic Fractionation Sample A Manufactured metal NASA JSC metal
Earth Aerospace metal Brazilian specimen
Figure 6: Artistic representation including the magnesium isotope systematics of the unknown material, specifically shown
relative to other terrestrial, non-terrestrial, and extrasolar materials. The figures plot the δ26Mg′ vs. the δ25Mg′, which represent
the differences in 26Mg/24Mg and 25Mg/24Mg isotopes relative to a known standard (DSM-3) in parts per thousand (‰)
notation. This calculation adjusts for known instrumental mass bias effects inherent in ICP-MS analyses and is consistent
with how magnesium data in literature are often presented. (Top) The extreme magnesium isotope compositions possible
from different star types. (Bottom) A zoomed-in view of the magnesium isotope compositions of local solar system
materials and the material in question. Uncertainty envelopes are not included, but when plotted with their uncertainties,
data points overlap the kinetic and equilibrium fractionation lines. (Note: Data points shown with a diamond shape, included
for completeness, were extracted from an older analysis source; we cannot directly verify the p