Reidite [SEP] named after
confirming its impact origin.
Name origin.
Reidite is named after the scientist who first created the high pressure phase in the laboratory in 1969, Alan F. Reid.
Formation.
Zircon morphs into reidite when shock waves from meteorite impacts hike up pressures and temperatures to extreme levels, equal to those deep inside the Earth where diamonds form. The pressure makes minerals tightly repack their molecules into denser crystal structures. Reidite has the same composition as regular zircon but is about 10 percent denser.
See also.
Reidite
Reidite is a very rare mineral created when zircon undergoes high pressure and temperatures. It is commonly associated with meteorite impacts.
On Earth, Reidite has been found only in seven crater impacts: the Chesapeake Bay Crater in Virginia; Ries Crater in Germany; Xiuyan Crater in China; Woodleigh Crater in Western Australia; Rock Elm Crater in Wisconsin; and Dhala Crater in India and Pantasma crater in Nicaragua.
In 2015 an occurrence of reidite was reported from the Precambrian Stac Fada Member structure in North West Scotland,