[Aqualist] : Strange happenings with LOI

[Richard Gillespie]

Alison,

Further to emails from David & Peter, I recall having to choose 904  
stainless steel for use at 900C in the lithium carbide prep for  
radiocarbon dating. This really didn't sit well with the machinist who  
had to turn a large ingot into a complex container, took months on the  
lathe.

Quite a lot of organics will combust at 500-550C, while many minerals  
(eg. carbonates) will decompose at 1050C. What are you expecting to  
learn from your LOI expts?

cheers, richard

On 05/06/2008, at 12:04 PM, Alison Johnston wrote:

> Hi
> I am a postgrad student trying out LOI for the first time. When my  
> first
> set of samples came out of the Muffle furnace after the second  
> heating (
> at 1050), tiny flakes bounced off  the stainless steel container for  
> the
> crucibles and yes, flakes landed inside my samples.
>
> Can anyone explain to me why this would be happening? The department
> technicians suggested it was some kind of a reaction in the metal to  
> the
> gas coming from the sediments. ...
>
> Has anyone experienced this ? Cheers Alison J.
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