Meteoric iron is the metal that humans first obtained and used in the earliest stage of metal culture. Advances in metallographic analysis techniques have revealed that meteoric iron largely comprises kamacite, taenite, and cohenite, which correspond to ferrite, austenite, and cementite in artificial steel, respectively. Although the mechanical properties of meteoric irons were measured previously to understand their origin and history, the genuine mechanical properties of meteoric iron remain unknown because of its complex microstructure and the pre-existing cracks in cohenite. Using micro-tensile tests to analyse the single-crystalline constituents of the Canyon Diablo meteorite, herein, we show that the taenite matrix exhibits excellent balance between yield strength and ductility superior to that of the kamacite matrix. We found that taenite is rich in nitrogen despite containing a large amount of nickel, which decreases the nitrogen solubility, suggesting that solid-solution strengthening via nitrogen is highly effective for the Fe–Ni system. Our findings not only provide insights for developing advanced high-strength steel but also help understand the mysterious relationship between nitrogen and nickel contents in steel. Like ancient peoples believed that meteoric iron was a gift from the heavens, the findings herein imply that this thought continues even now.

陨铁是人类最早获得并在金属文化最早阶段使用的金属。金相分析技术的进步表明，陨铁主要包含钾长石，钙钛矿和方铅矿，分别对应于人造钢中的铁素体，奥氏体和渗碳体。尽管先前已测量过陨铁的机械性能以了解其起源和历史，但由于其复杂的微观结构和钴红石中预先存在的裂纹，陨铁的真正机械性能仍然未知。在本文中使用微拉伸试验分析Canyon Diablo陨石的单晶成分，我们表明，ta石基体在屈服强度和延展性方面表现出优于kamacite基体的优异平衡。我们发现，钙钛矿尽管含有大量镍，但仍富含氮，这降低了氮的溶解度，这表明通过氮固溶强化对Fe-Ni体系非常有效。我们的发现不仅为开发高级高强度钢提供了见识，而且还有助于了解钢中氮和镍含量之间的神秘关系。就像古代民族相信陨铁是从天上来的礼物一样，这里的发现也暗示着这种思想一直持续到现在。我们的发现不仅为开发高级高强度钢提供了见识，而且还有助于了解钢中氮和镍含量之间的神秘关系。就像古代民族相信陨铁是从天上来的礼物一样，这里的发现也暗示着这种思想一直持续到现在。我们的发现不仅为开发高级高强度钢提供了见识，而且还有助于了解钢中氮和镍含量之间的神秘关系。就像古代民族相信陨铁是从天上来的礼物一样，这里的发现也暗示着这种思想一直持续到现在。