dre464 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 When the wheels of industry grind to a halt, one looks for ways to occupy their time while on the clock. I was recently trained on using a scanning electron microscope, but I felt like I needed more practice . I've been wanting to see how some of my fossils might look at high magnification, soooooooooo...... First, I tried an Engonoceras serpentinum (the one on the right) that I recently found in the Waco Research Pit. Under the microscope, it looks like this... I also checked out a pyritized ammonite that my wife found. Under the microscope, it looked like this... This was fun, but it got me thinking. The more highly damaged, pyritized ammonite seems to have a different crystal structure than the better preserved Engonoceras. Could it be that one is pyrite and the other marcasite? Or has the more damaged specimen simply oxidized from pyrite to a different mineral form? Or are the crystals simply more tightly packed on the Engonoceras and therefore I'm just unable to tell that the minerals have the same general shape? Thanks for enduring my stream of consciousness... 1 "Men became scientific because they expected Law in Nature, and they expected Law in Nature because they believed in a Legislator." - C.S. Lewis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I can't answer your questions but really like your SEM pictures. I wish I had access to a SEM. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I surrender to the SEM images.... The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Great photos! Love getting deep into the crystals like that. Hope you do more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I can't answer your questions but really like your SEM pictures. I wish I had access to a SEM. Marco Sr. ditto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Now that's taking pictures "down" to a whole new level...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sTamprockcoin Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Perhaps ... what you're seeing is that the undamaged specimen had a "tighter" (smaller & more closely bonded) crystaline structure in the replacemnt mineral than the second specimen therefore better resisting breakage . This is based on my assumption that the magnifications are similar in the two SEM photos. As far as I know Pyrite "oxidizes" to sulfur & iron compounds not marcasite though I may be wrong. “Beautiful is what we see. More beautiful is what we understand. Most beautiful is what we do not comprehend.” N. Steno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 I saw a used SEM for sale on eBay years ago (for sale by some university who upgraded). I'm kicking myself for not buying it now. I love macro photography and this is about as "macro" (micro) as it gets. Loving the images. Please look for an excuse to run some more fossils through the SEM. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now