Magazine Article

Process for Making Single-Domain Magnetite Crystals

TBMG-379

11/01/2004

Abstract
Content

A process for making chemically pure, single-domain magnetite crystals substantially free of structural defects has been invented as a byproduct of research into the origin of globules in a meteorite found in Antarctica and believed to have originated on Mars. The globules in the meteorite comprise layers of mixed (Mg, Fe, and Ca) carbonates, magnetite, and iron sulfides. Since the discovery of the meteorite was announced in August 1996, scientists have debated whether the globules are of biological origin or were formed from inorganic materials by processes that could have taken place on Mars. While the research that led to the present invention has not provided a definitive conclusion concerning the origin of the globules, it has shown that globules of a different but related chemically layered structure can be grown from inorganic ingredients in a multistep precipitation process.

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Citation
"Process for Making Single-Domain Magnetite Crystals," Mobility Engineering, November 1, 2004.
Additional Details
Publisher
Published
Nov 1, 2004
Product Code
TBMG-379
Content Type
Magazine Article
Language
English