science

Wold Cottage meteorite

Wold Cottage meteorite is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wold Cottage meteorite rather than just read about it. In short: The Wold Cottage meteorite (also called the Wold Newton meteorite) fell near Wold Cottage farm in 1795, a few miles away from the village of Wold Newton in Yorkshire, England. The meteorite The stone fell at around 3 o'clock, on 13 December 1795, landing within a few yards of ploughman John Shipley.

Key takeaways

Wold Cottage meteorite belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wold Cottage meteorite to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wold Cottage meteorite from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Wold Cottage meteorite (also called the Wold Newton meteorite) fell near Wold Cottage farm in 1795, a few miles away from the village of Wold Newton in Yorkshire, England.

The meteorite The stone fell at around 3 o'clock, on 13 December 1795, landing within a few yards of ploughman John Shipley. It created a crater approximately 1 yard (0.91 m) across, and embedded itself in the underlying chalk rock to a depth of 7 inches (180 mm), passing through 12 inches (300 mm) of topsoil. The fall was observed by several people, who described a dark body passing through the air. As discovered at its landing point, the stone was warm and smoking; several people reported sounds of explosions as it fell. The owner of the land was Major Edward Topham, a well-known public figure, an ex-soldier, playwright and newspaper proprietor; he publicised the find and exhibited the meteorite publicly at Piccadilly in London. The stone initially weighed 56 pounds (25 kg). James Sowerby, a naturalist, acquired the meteorite in 1804. The meteorite was later acquired by the British Museum in 1835. The meteorite can nowadays be seen in the Natural History Museum in London.

Analysis and research Early analyses recorded two parts of the stone, an earthy part, and a malleable part. The earthy part analysed as containing silicon, magnesium, iron, and a small amount of nickel, of which some parts of the iron and nickel were in the elemental state; the earthy substance was similar to kaolin (weathered feldspar), but relatively tough. The malleable parts also contained iron and nickel, the majority iron. A form of iron pyrites (iron sulphur compound) was also reported present. Modern science records the meteorite as a L6 ordinary chondrite. The Wold Cottage meteorite was the largest meteorite observed to fall in Britain, and is the second-largest recorded in Europe (after the Ensisheim meteorite that fell in 1492). The meteorite and evidence given about its fall contributed to the debate concerning whether extraterrestrial matter existed on Earth or not, and towards the early scientific study of meteorites.

The monument

A monument was erected on the location of the stone's impact, by Major Topham, on whose property the stone had fallen. The structure was built of brick 4 ft (1.2 m) square and 25 ft (7.6 m) high, with a plaque on one face.

In fiction The event was used by the science fiction writer Philip José Farmer in his "biographies" of fictional characters (Tarzan Alive and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life) as the basis for a literary premise commonly referred to as the Wold Newton family. The film Robinson in Ruins would also refer to the event, with the main character, Robinson, seeing it showing meteorites always fall at the time of significant events, in this case the 1795 amendment to the Settlement Act which allowed capitalism to develop faster in England. The meteorite plays quite a central role in the 2019 detective novel Sherlock Holmes & The Christmas Demon by British author James Lovegrove.

Illustrations

Wold Cottage meteorite: The Wold Newton meteorite monument — The Wold Newton meteorite monument

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wold Cottage meteorite

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wold Cottage meteorite claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wold Cottage meteorite before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wold Cottage meteorite ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wold Cottage meteorite

In research: Wold Cottage meteorite appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wold Cottage meteorite in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wold Cottage meteorite is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1795 in England, 1795 in science, Chondrite meteorites, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wold Cottage meteorite outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Wold Cottage meteorite in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wold Cottage meteorite means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wold Cottage meteorite out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wold Cottage meteorite in simple terms?

The Wold Cottage meteorite (also called the Wold Newton meteorite) fell near Wold Cottage farm in 1795, a few miles away from the village of Wold Newton in Yorkshire, England. The meteorite The stone fell at around 3 o'clock, on 13 December 1795, landing within a few yards of ploughman John Shipley.

Why does Wold Cottage meteorite matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wold Cottage meteorite?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wold Cottage meteorite.