Analysis of metal fragment suspected to be from extraterrestrial

The metal fragment is believed to be part of an Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon (UAP) that crashed to Earth in the late 1940s and is associated with the famous Roswell incident. Although the Roswell UAP may have been a US Air Force balloon, many people still believe that aliens have visited Earth.

The piece of metal was then passed on to To The Stars, an organization that hunts Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). In 2019, a spokesperson told the newspaper New York Times that To The Stars has “strange UFO samples” that they believe originated from the Roswell incident. The samples could rewrite history if proven to be a piece of alien technology.

In 2022, the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), the UAP investigation office of the US government, stepped in and requested that the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) analyze the sample. The results of the analysis were recently released, IFL Science September 18 news.

The specimen is a magnesium alloy. Although it contains mainly magnesium and zinc, it also contains bismuth, lead, and other elements.

According to some UFO theory proponents, the material possesses extraordinary properties, such as acting as a terahertz waveguide. They claim that it helps provide “anti-gravity capabilities.”

Waveguides are metallic objects that transmit electromagnetic waves. A common example is a microwave oven, which uses a magnetron to transmit waves into the space where they heat food. UFO proponents believe that if scaled up enough, something like a terahertz waveguide could be created that could levitate objects.

“ORNL assesses that this sample is of Earth origin and does not meet the theoretical requirements to function as a terahertz waveguide,” ORNL explains in the new report.

This conclusion is based on an assessment of the structural and elemental properties of the material. To act as a waveguide, the material needs to have a single layer of pure bismuth sandwiched between layers of magnesium alloy. With this arrangement, bismuth can conduct terahertz waves. However, the metallic specimen is not structured this way. The bismuth is not pure enough and has multiple layers of bismuth between the magnesium.

The sample’s physical properties are consistent with material originating on Earth, according to ORNL. If the material originated on another planet, it would have different isotopic ratios. But analysis showed that the isotopic ratios of magnesium and lead were similar to those on Earth.

“Considering all available evidence, AARO assesses that this specimen is likely a test item, a manufacturing product, a byproduct, or a material component of aerospace performance studies to evaluate the properties of magnesium alloys,” ORNL said.