Carbon Isotope Abundance in Meteoritic Carbonates

The C(13)/C(12) ratio in the carbonate minerals of Orgueil, a carbonaceous chondrite, is 6 percent greater than the ratio in any known terrestrial carbon. The effect may be produced by a chemical isotope fractionation involving processes not common on earth, or it may be the result of incomplete homogenization of substances with different histories of nucleosynthesis.     

Silicon Isotopic Composition in Large Meteoritic SiC Particles and 22Na Origin of 22Ne

Large silicon carbide (SiC) particles extracted from acid-insoluble residues of carbonaceous chondrites are isotopically anomalous in both silicon and carbon and contain isotopically extreme noble gases. These particles are thought to have originated in mass outflows from red giant stars and to have existed in the interstellar medium at the time the solar system formed from an interstellar cloud. Calculations show that the silicon isotope correlations in those large SiC particles can be generated only in the most massive carbon stars. Consequently, the almost pure neon-22 ((22)Ne) in those particles must be interpreted as the condensation of radioactive sodium-22 ((22)Na) in the particles as they flowed away from the stars. The (22)Na is produced through proton capture by (21)Ne at the base of the surface convection zone. Neon-22 does not exist abundantly in helium shells hot enough to burn magnesium, which is necessary to establish the measured silicon isotopic composition.     

Thermal Properties of Meteoritic Iron from -150{degrees} to 300{degrees} Celsius

Thermal diffusivity and specific heat have been measured by the flash method on a small specimen of meteoritic iron from the Canyon Diablo fall. Measurements have been made over the temperature range -150 degrees to 300 degrees C from which thermal conductivity values have been calculated.     

The Tunguska Explosion of 1908: Discovery of Meteoritic Debris near the Explosion Site and at the South Pole

Submillimeter-sized metallic spheres extracted from soil in the Tunguska region of central Siberia contain noble metals in cosmic proportions. The trace element composition and geographical distribution of these spheres suggest that they are from the 30 June 1908 Tunguska explosion and not meteoritic ablation products falling continuously on the earth. Debris from this explosion was also discovered in a South Pole ice core; this discovery indicates that the Tunguska object exploded in the atmosphere with subsequent stratospheric injection and transport of the debris. The celestial body that exploded over Tunguska weighed more than 7 million tons, was more than 0.16 kilometer in diameter, and may well have been a stony meteorite. This discovery offers a new precision time marker in polar ice strata for the year 1909. The steady-state influx of cosmic matter at the South Pole is estimated to be 1.8 x 10(-8) grams per square centimeter per year, which corresponds to a global influx of 4 x l0(5) tons per year.     

Formation and subdivision of deformation structures during plastic deformation

During plastic deformation of metals and alloys, dislocations arrange in ordered patterns. How and when these self-organization processes take place have remained elusive, because in situ observations have not been feasible. We present an x-ray diffraction method that provided data on the dynamics of individual, deeply embedded dislocation structures. During tensile deformation of pure copper, dislocation-free regions were identified. They showed an unexpected intermittent dynamics, for example, appearing and disappearing with proceeding deformation and even displaying transient splitting behavior. Insight into these processes is relevant for an understanding of the strength and work-hardening of deformed materials.     

Shape and nature of small sedimentary quartz particles

Quartz particles in sediments become flatter with decreasing size; a cleavage mechanism may operate below the critical size of about 100 microns. Flat particles would tend to form a more open packing than spherical particles, and this may contribute to the collapse of loess and similar soils and the sudden loss of strength observed in "sensitive" clay soils.     

Asymmetric adsorption of alanine by quartz

Radioactive D- and L-alanine hydrochloride in 10(-5) molar dimethylformamide solution was adsorbed by d- and 1-quartz to the extent of 20 to 30 percent, as shown by radioactivity loss. d-Quartz preferentially adsorbs D-alanine and 1-quartz adsorbs L-alanine. The extent of asymmetric preferential adsorption is about 1.0 to 1.8 percent, at the 99.9 percent confidence level.     

Color center in amethyst quartz

Treatment with x-rays increased the intensity of color of natural amethyst up to fivefold, and an electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum was detected. The intensity of the spectrum was proportional to the intensity of the optical absorption near 545 mmicro. The EPR spectrum of the color center corresponded to a positive hole trapped on a substitutional Fe(3+) ion in the quartz structure. We ascribe the color to a charge-transfer transition, Fe(4+) + O(2)- --> Fe(3+) + O(1-).     

Retention of xenon in quartz and Earth's missing xenon

The reactivity of xenon with terrestrial oxides was investigated by in situ synchrotron x-ray diffraction. At high temperature (T > 500 kelvin), some silicon was reduced, and the pressure stability of quartz was expanded, attesting to the substitution of some xenon for silicon. When the quartz was quenched, xenon diffused out and only a few weight percent remained trapped in samples. These results show that xenon can be covalently bonded to oxygen in quartz in the lower continental crust, providing an answer to the missing xenon problem; synthesis paths of rare gas compounds are also opened.     

石英晶体微天平(QCM)应用的研究进展

石英晶体微天平(QCM)是基于石英晶体的压电效应而制成的表面敏感型分析技术,是高灵敏的在线表界面过程分析工具,具有纳克级的灵敏度,可以原位、实时反映石英晶片表面的质量变化。QCM的实时监测、表征(生物)膜沉积、检测特定抗原和研究细胞黏附等特点在化学、物理、生物等领域有着广泛的应用。本研究介绍了QCM的技术原理以及综述了近年来QCM在细胞、环境监测、纤维素酶水解、电化学等方面的应用,展望了QCM技术可能应用的新方向。参40     

Iron in synthetic quartz: heat and radiation induced changes

As part of a study of the possible changes in silicate material on the lunar surface produced by solar radiation, effects of ionizing radiation, of heating, and of heating followed by ionizing radiation on iron-doped synthetic quartzes have been studied as models. The optical changes are mainly related to valence changes in ferric or ferrous ions.     

混凝土面板堆石坝面板应力变形仿真计算

【目的】基于混凝土面板与垫层之间接触面的数值计算模型,考虑温度荷载作用,研究面板堆石坝面板的应力变形特性。【方法】以接触摩擦单元理论为基础,采用接触单元模拟混凝土面板与垫层之间的接触面,进行了公伯峡混凝土面板堆石坝面板应力变形仿真计算,并将计算结果与观测数据进行对比分析。【结果】面板挠度呈现出中部大、两端小的分布规律,最大值为0.24 m,位于面板的中心位置,与观测结果基本一致;面板的顺坡向应力分布呈现出中部受压、两端受拉的变化趋势,顺坡向压应力最大值为7.9 MPa,出现在约1/2坝高处,拉应力最大值为1.3 MPa,出现在面板的底部与顶部;面板底面点与表面点的应力分布是一致的,在同一高程处,面板底面点的应力较表面点大;考虑温度荷载作用时,混凝土面板的顺坡向应力分布规律与不考虑温度荷载时基本一致,但拉应力值明显增大,并且与实际观测结果更为接近。【结论】基于接触摩擦计算模型,考虑温度荷载作用,可以获得更为准确的混凝土面板应力变形数值计算结果。     

Emplacement of cretaceous-tertiary boundary shocked quartz from chicxulub crater

Observations on shocked quartz in Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary sediments compellingly tied to Chicxulub crater raise three problems. First, in North America shocked quartz occurs above the main K-T ejecta layer. Second, shocked quartz is more abundant west than east of Chicxulub. Third, shocked quartz reached distances requiring initial velocities up to 8 kilometers per second, corresponding to shock pressures that would produce melt, not the moderate-pressure shock lamellae observed. Shock devolatilization and the expansion of carbon dioxide and water from impacted wet carbonate, producing a warm, accelerating fireball after the initial hot fireball of silicate vapor, may explain all three problems.     

Shocked quartz at the triassic-jurassic boundary in Italy

Quartz grains that appear to have been shock-metamorphosed occur within three closely spaced shale beds from the uppermost Triassic ("Rhaetian") Calcare a Rhaetavicula in the Northern Apennines of Italy. The upper shale coincides with the abrupt termination of the distinctive, uppermost Triassic Rhaetavicula fauna and is overlain by the Hettangian (Lower Jurassic) Calcare Massiccio; no extinctions appear to be associated with the two lower layers, which occur 1.2 and 2.4 meters below the boundary shale. Approximately 5 to 10% of the quartz grains within these layers exhibit one or more sets of planar deformational features whose orientations cluster around the rational crystallographic planes (basal, omega, and pi) most commonly observed in shocked quartz. Textural and stratigraphic observations support an interpretation of at least three closely spaced impacts at the end of the Triassic.     

Models for material failure and deformation

Simple computer models have been used to investigate a variety of pattern formation processes associated with material failure and deformation. These models reproduce surprisingly well the characteristic morphologies observed in a wide range of real systems. They provide a sound basis for the development of more realistic models that can be used to develop a better understanding of the mechanical properties of real materials. The present algorithms are adequate for some purposes, but substantial improvements are needed if simulation results are to make a major contribution to our theoretical understanding of the asymptotic fractal scaling and universality properties of patterns generated by failure and deformation phenomena.     

Atomic force microscopy of atomic-scale ledges and etch pits formed during dissolution of quartz

The processes involved in the dissolution and growth of crystals are closely related. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) of faceted pits (called negative crystals) formed during quartz dissolution reveals subtle details of these underlying physical mechanisms for silicates. In imaging these surfaces, the AFM detected ledges <1 nanometer (nm) high that were spaced 10 to 90 nm apart. A dislocation pit, invisible to optical and scanning electron microscopy measurements and serving as a ledge source, was also imaged. These observations confirm the applicability of ledge-motion models to dissolution and growth of silicates; coupled with measurements of dissolution rate on facets, these methods provide a powerful tool for probing mineral surface kinetics.