The blue coloration in banded fluorite (Blue John) from Castleton, Derbyshire, England

1979 ◽  
Vol 43 (326) ◽  
pp. 243-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Galwey ◽  
K. A. Jones ◽  
R. Reed ◽  
D. Dollimore

SummaryFrom the microscopic examination of lightly etched, cleaved (111) surfaces of banded blue fluorite (Blue John, from Castleton, Derbyshire) it is concluded that the coloured lamellae are not necessarily or exclusively associated with lattice-line imperfections. Elemental analyses, by electron dispersive methods, of fresh cleavage (111) surfaces in the immediate vicinity of small inclusions (c. 10 µm diameter) possessing associated coloured haloes detected no appreciable concentrations of impurities. From the evidence available, it is suggested that the zones of blue colour consist of colloidal calcium resulting from radiation damage caused by the intermittent deposition of radioactive material on the surfaces of fluorite during crystal development. The dispersion of colloidal calcium produced is particularly stable as a consequence of the close correspondence between lattice spacings in calcium fluoride and in calcium metal.

2018 ◽  
Vol 778 ◽  
pp. 256-261
Author(s):  
Ali Murad ◽  
Azmat Iqbal ◽  
Waqar Ahmad

The neodymium fluoride was reduced to metal by thermal reduction or pyro-metallurgical process using calcium as reducing agent. Thermal reduction was carried out in a sealed reactions chamber in inert atmosphere with a nickel crucible having dry calcium fluoride lining. The stoichiometric mixture of neodymium fluoride and calcium metal chips were used in the form of pallets for pyro-metallurgical reactions. Small iodine was also added to increase heat available during ignition and to yield a lower melting and more fluid slag. The contents were heated electrically at a predetermined rate until ignition took place. The reaction was self-supporting and neodymium metal was obtained with fairly good efficiency.


Author(s):  
S. K. Aggarwal ◽  
P. McAllister ◽  
R. W. Wagner ◽  
B. Rosenberg

Uranyl acetate has been used as an electron stain for en bloc staining as well as for staining ultrathin sections in conjunction with various lead stains (Fig. 1). Present studies reveal that various platinum compounds also show promise as electron stains. Certain platinum compounds have been shown to be effective anti-tumor agents. Of particular interest are the compounds with either uracil or thymine as one of the ligands (cis-Pt(II)-uracil; cis-Pt(II)-thymine). These compounds are amorphous, highly soluble in water and often exhibit an intense blue coloration. These compounds show enough electron density to be used as stains for electron microscopy. Most of the studies are based on various cell lines (human AV, cells, human lymphoma cells, KB cells, Sarcoma-180 ascites cells, chick fibroblasts and HeLa cells) while studies on tissue blocks are in progress.


Author(s):  
M. Isaacson ◽  
M.L. Collins ◽  
M. Listvan

Over the past five years it has become evident that radiation damage provides the fundamental limit to the study of blomolecular structure by electron microscopy. In some special cases structural determinations at very low doses can be achieved through superposition techniques to study periodic (Unwin & Henderson, 1975) and nonperiodic (Saxton & Frank, 1977) specimens. In addition, protection methods such as glucose embedding (Unwin & Henderson, 1975) and maintenance of specimen hydration at low temperatures (Taylor & Glaeser, 1976) have also shown promise. Despite these successes, the basic nature of radiation damage in the electron microscope is far from clear. In general we cannot predict exactly how different structures will behave during electron Irradiation at high dose rates. Moreover, with the rapid rise of analytical electron microscopy over the last few years, nvicroscopists are becoming concerned with questions of compositional as well as structural integrity. It is important to measure changes in elemental composition arising from atom migration in or loss from the specimen as a result of electron bombardment.


Author(s):  
T. E. Mitchell ◽  
M. R. Pascucci ◽  
R. A. Youngman

1. Introduction. Studies of radiation damage in ceramics are of interest not only from a fundamental point of view but also because it is important to understand the behavior of ceramics in various practical radiation enyironments- fission and fusion reactors, nuclear waste storage media, ion-implantation devices, outer space, etc. A great deal of work has been done on the spectroscopy of point defects and small defect clusters in ceramics, but relatively little has been performed on defect agglomeration using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in the same kind of detail that has been so successful in metals. This article will assess our present understanding of radiation damage in ceramics with illustrations using results obtained from the authors' work.


Author(s):  
L. Reimer

Most information about a specimen is obtained by elastic scattering of electrons, but one cannot avoid inelastic scattering and therefore radiation damage by ionisation as a primary process of damage. This damage is a dose effect, being proportional to the product of lectron current density j and the irradiation time t in Coul.cm−2 as long as there is a negligible heating of the specimen.Therefore one has to determine the dose needed to produce secondary damage processes, which can be measured quantitatively by a chemical or physical effect in the thin specimen. The survival of micro-organisms or the decrease of photoconductivity and cathodoluminescence are such effects needing very small doses (see table).


Author(s):  
K. S. McCarty ◽  
R. F. Weave ◽  
L. Kemper ◽  
F. S. Vogel

During the prodromal stages of sporulation in the Basidiomycete, Agaricus bisporus, mitochondria accumulate in the basidial cells, zygotes, in the gill tissues prior to entry of these mitochondria, together with two haploid nuclei and cytoplasmic ribosomes, into the exospores. The mitochondria contain prominent loci of DNA [Fig. 1]. A modified Kleinschmidt spread technique1 has been used to evaluate the DNA strands from purified whole mitochondria released by osmotic shock, mitochondrial DNA purified on CsCl gradients [density = 1.698 gms/cc], and DNA purified on ethidium bromide CsCl gradients. The DNA appeared as linear strands up to 25 u in length and circular forms 2.2-5.2 u in circumference. In specimens prepared by osmotic shock, many strands of DNA are apparently attached to membrane fragments [Fig. 2]. When mitochondria were ruptured in hypotonic sucrose and then fixed in glutaraldehyde, the ribosomes were released for electron microscopic examination.


Author(s):  
T. A. Welton

Various authors have emphasized the spatial information resident in an electron micrograph taken with adequately coherent radiation. In view of the completion of at least one such instrument, this opportunity is taken to summarize the state of the art of processing such micrographs. We use the usual symbols for the aberration coefficients, and supplement these with £ and 6 for the transverse coherence length and the fractional energy spread respectively. He also assume a weak, biologically interesting sample, with principal interest lying in the molecular skeleton remaining after obvious hydrogen loss and other radiation damage has occurred.


Author(s):  
Robert C. Rau ◽  
John Moteff

Transmission electron microscopy has been used to study the thermal annealing of radiation induced defect clusters in polycrystalline tungsten. Specimens were taken from cylindrical tensile bars which had been irradiated to a fast (E > 1 MeV) neutron fluence of 4.2 × 1019 n/cm2 at 70°C, annealed for one hour at various temperatures in argon, and tensile tested at 240°C in helium. Foils from both the unstressed button heads and the reduced areas near the fracture were examined.Figure 1 shows typical microstructures in button head foils. In the unannealed condition, Fig. 1(a), a dispersion of fine dot clusters was present. Annealing at 435°C, Fig. 1(b), produced an apparent slight decrease in cluster concentration, but annealing at 740°C, Fig. 1(C), resulted in a noticeable densification of the clusters. Finally, annealing at 900°C and 1040°C, Figs. 1(d) and (e), caused a definite decrease in cluster concentration and led to the formation of resolvable dislocation loops.


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