Laboratory infrared transmission spectra from 2. 5 to 25 microns of individual interplanetary

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:5198154

Sandford, S A

Dust particles collected in the stratosphere that have chondritic elemental abundances provide a new form of extraterrestrial material for laboratory study. The infrared transmission spectra from 2.5 to 25 ..mu..m of 30 of these particles are presented. The spectra of the particles almost all have a dominant 10 ..mu..m silicate absorption feature. Twenty-six of the particles can be grouped into one of these spectral classes referred to as Olivines, Pyroxenes, and Layer-Lattice Silicates, after the terrestrial minerals that provide the best match to the dust spectra. Transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy confirm the silicate mineral identifications. However, the results also show that samples with nearly identical infrared spectra can have quite different microscopic mineralogical structures. Complementary measurements of large D/H enrichments and solar flare nuclear tracks in some of the particles confirm that at least some members of each spectral class are extraterrestrial.

• Research Organization: Toronto Univ., Ontario (Canada)
• OSTI ID: 5198154
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640107* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Planetary Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
DUSTS
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
INFRARED SPECTRA
INTERPLANETARY SPACE
IRON COMPOUNDS
IRON SILICATES
LASER SPECTROSCOPY
MAGNESIUM COMPOUNDS
MAGNESIUM SILICATES
MICROSCOPY
MINERALS
OLIVINE
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PYROXENES
RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY
SILICATE MINERALS
SILICATES
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SPACE
SPECTRA
SPECTROSCOPY
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY