Kamacite is a mineral. It is a naturally occurring alloy of iron and nickel, usually in the proportion of 90:10 to 95:5 although impurities such as cobalt or carbon may be present. It has a metallic lustre, is grey and has no clear cleavage although the structure is isometric-hexoctahedral. Its density is around 8 g/cm³ and its hardness is 4 on the Mohs scale. It is also sometimes called balkeneisen. This article is about minerals in the geologic sense; for nutrient minerals see dietary mineral; for the band see Mineral (band). ... An alloy is a combination, either in solution or compound, of two or more elements, which has a combination of at least two metals, and where the resultant material has metallic properties. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nickel, Ni, 28 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 10, 4, d Appearance lustrous, metallic Atomic mass 58. ... This article is on the chemical element. ... General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer. ...

It was first named in 1861 from the Greek kamask (lath or beam). It is found in meteorites. Meteoric kamacite is found in bands in octahedrites or hexahedrites, these sometimes contains Neumann bands, evidence of impact, or Widmanstätten's patterns. It is difficult to distinguish visually from the similar meteor alloy taenite and the two can be found closely intermixed as plessite. Bacubirito in Culiacan, Mexico is the second largest meteorite in the Americas, and fifth largest in the world A meteorite is a small extraterrestrial body that reaches the Earths surface. ... Octahedrites are a class of nickel iron meteorites. ... Hexahedrites are a class of nickel iron meteorites. ... Franz Ernst Neumann (September 11, 1798 - May 23, 1895) was a German mineralogist, physicist and mathematician. ...

See also: list of minerals Gem animals. ...