[NewCandle] EDS adventures

[Nick Reiter]

Hello, all,

The summer is sweeping by, no mistake.

I wanted to mention to the group that I now have some
better analytical tools at my disposal, at least
informally (with permission granted to use them for
personal private work on my own time:)

Back in May, we finally were able to purchase and set
up a new Jeol 6390 SEM at the lab.  In late June,
after I returned from a 2 week stint for work in
Germany, we had an EDS system with light element
detection added.

The system has been humming and its been one of my
more regular tasks - things finally coalescing into a
true analytical department.

However, I've also been able to start looking at some
items left hanging for a long time, "mad science"
wise.

One of these has been examination of aluminum foil
surfaces from some of the tightly rolled "Casimir
cavity" salt water hydrolysis runs.  Very cautious and
very tentative, but I've been seeing signs of
elemental spectra that don't appear to have been in
control foil samples.  Boron and Si being two, in
measurable amounts.  Also been seeing at high mag that
the pinhole perforations in the aluminum foil rolls
after the reaction is spent are fascinating, and very
unlike what I expected.  Almost like acoustic shock
ruptures rather than corroded holes or round pinholes.

I'm gathering a collection of EDS and SEM images and
will eventually get them onto a web page.

ALso, speaking of EDS, I was able to use EDS to finish
up some final analysis on my long running (year and a
half?) project of the two Ohio cases of mystery
sky-fall aluminum alloy. Paper is here:

http://www.theavalonfoundation.org/docs/metal.html

SO what have all of the other lurkers here been up to
this summer?

All the best,

nr


The Holy Grail 'neath ancient Roslin waits.
The blade and chalice guarding o'er Her gates. 
Adorned in the masters' loving art, She lies;
She rests at last beneath the starry skies.