Some alkali and titania analyses of tektites before and after G-1 precision monitoring

A comparison of 55 older analyses of Australasian tektites with 110 modern precisely monitored analyses suggests that more than half of the older alkali and titania determinations are decidedly inaccurate and misleading. Deviations of the older analyses from the restricted values of the modern analyses are comparable to the imprecisions shown by early analyses of G-1 granite and W-1 diabase. This suggests that a high percentage of older alkali and titania analyses, such as those of Washington's tables, are of questionable quality.