TITLE:
Distribution of Microcrystalline Quartz in Glassy Fulgurites from Garuamukh and Kimin, India
AUTHORS:
Bhaskar J. Saikia, G. Parthasarathy, Rashmi R. Borah
KEYWORDS:
Fulgurites, Microcrystalline Quartz, Spectroscopic Method
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics,
Vol.3 No.10,
October
29,
2015
ABSTRACT: The presence of microcrystalline quartz particles in fulgurites of Garuamukh and Kimin has been investigated. The compositional and structural studies were carried out at room temperature by using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic techniques. The compositional result shows the major constituent of the fulgurites to be SiO2 with miniature quantities of oxides of Al, Ti, Fe, Ca, and Na. The X-ray diffraction quantified the mixtures of identical amorphous and micro-crystalline phases in the fulgurites samples. Systemetatic investigations of microcrystalline quartz particles have been carried out in midinfrared region of 500 - 1000 cm-1 based on the assignment of infrared bands of the structural group SiO4 tetrahedra. In infrared Si-O-Si bending vibration region of quartz, the octahedral characteristic peak is explored in the fulgurites samples with the variation of the particle sizes which is indicative to the presence of microcrystalline quartz. The distribution of the microcrystalline quartz is ascertained by calculating the extinction coefficient. The present study has significant implications in understanding the thermodynamic properties of naturally occurring glasses, which are formed by shock metamorphism.