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Re: Thin sections of irons

Peter Abrahams wrote:

> Thin sections of metals are used by metallographers; the metal is thinned
> to several hundred nanometers by ion polishing or electrochemical
> processes.  I've heard that the Institute of Meteoritics has some thin
> sections of irons.  Have any readers used these; or know of any commercial
> labs that can prepare them?

Peter:

Being  a metallurgist, I think I can answer your question:

THIN sections of IRON meteorites are rather uncommon and 
- to my knownledge - used only in TEM (transmission electron microscopy) 
studies, e. g. for analysis of the fine structure of metal phases 
(like the ordered tetrataenite phase within plessite fields). Only very few 
meteoriticists have used these techniques and it is more commonly applied 
in the fields of metal physics and metallurgy. 
Much more common are polished (not thinned!) and microetched sections 
of iron meteorites used for the metallographic study of the micro- and 
macro structure of the iron (many of the pictures in Vagn Buchwald's 
famous Handbook of Iron Meteorites are made from such sections).

I do not know of commercial labs who are able to prepare metal thin 
sections, but most of the research institutions (Physics/Materials Sciences 
Departments) that use TEM, do prepare their own sections (like we do in 
our house).

Best Regards, Joern
*******************************************************************
 Joern Koblitz                                   
 IMSAS   
 University of Bremen, P.O.Box 330440
 D-28334 Bremen, Germany 
 Phone   ++49 421 218 7292                                     
 Fax     ++49 421 218 4774                                     
 e-mail  jkoblitz@physik.uni-bremen.de                         
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