Heating of Basalts with a Carbon Dioxide Laser
Milton Blander 1,
Klaus Keil 2,
Lloyd S. Nelson 3, and
Samuel R. Skaggs 3
1 North American Rockwell Science Center, Thousand Oaks, California
2 Department of Geology and Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque 87106
3 Sandia Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87115
Basalts heated strongly with focused infrared laser radiation vaporized and splattered. Electron microprobe analyses of condensate, ejecta, and residue show strong vapor fractionation trends which, for some elements, are different from what would be expected theoretically and from previously reported data on more siliceous materials. It appears that solution effects can account for these differences. Heating of materials by a powerful focused laser beam for the purpose of study of vapor fractionation is a convenient technique that is more versatile than previous methods such as heating in solar or arc image furnaces.
