Right, first I would like to say I watched monty python for the first time ever today - The meaning of life. What a film!!! Amazing.
Back to business (thats a hard word to spell after a bottle of wine or two).
As for the Garnets;
Method.
1. Rinsed slurry stone and main coticule with deionised water.
2. Rubbed coticule with slurry stone to raise a thick slurry.
3. Why doesn't your dictionary recognise coticule as a real word, after all, it is a COTICULE website?
4. Slowly rinsed hone with deionised water, and collected the 'run off' in a glass container.
5. Using a pipette, I administered 10ul (microlitres) to a copper grid for TEM observation.
6. I diluted a small amount of the sample slurry 4 times (1 part coticule slurry solution, 3 parts water) and made another copper grid with 10ul.
7. Took copper grids to TEM and imaged.
TEM used is Tecnai 12, Spirit.
As you are aware, and according to the Ardennes website, coticule garnets 'are football shaped and 5-20 microns in diameter (micrometers).'
My images have scale bars in nanometers AND some in micrometers. For those who do not study science/mathematics, 1 micrometer = 1000 nanometers (1um = 1nm). I am using u instead of the greek letter mu for micrometer.
My observations do not agree with those viewed by ardennes coticule
This however, does not mean I am correct, or Ardennes incorrect, and will need some more investigation to provide conclusive evidence. I shall repeat this experiment again, next time using a DMT 325 grit to create the slurry, on both #29 coticule and blue side.
I have observed particles of varying shape from almost spherical, to square, and with all manners of shapes inbetween. The size of these particle have varied between 0.3um (micrometer) and 9um in diameter (please bear in mind these are cross sectional lengths rather than 'diameter' as most particles aren't spherical).
Please view the images to confirm my conclusions.
I did not notice
any discernable difference between the standard sample and the diluted sample, allbeit slightly less particles observable in the diluted sample.
Enough of the scientific talk, enjoy the pics!!
James
http://s958.photobucket.com/albums/ae66/james_towle2000/Coticule Slurry TEM observations/
Coticule slurry 1 shows an image zoomed out (showing more of the grids, hence more particles)
Coticule slurry 2 shows a closer image in a different region, showing large AND smaller particles
Coticule slurry 3 shows a zoomed in image of the smaller particles in slurry 2. (apologies for no scale bar on 2 and 3, I was unaware that the scale was not being burnt onto the image).
Coticule slurry 4 and 5 shows fairly zoomed out images (with scale bars) showing the size and shape of particles.
Coticule slurry 6 shows a zoomed out image with sizes superimposed onto a few particles
Coticule slurry 7 shows some garnets up close
Coticule slurry 8 shows the same garnets in 7, closer.
Coticule slurry 9 shows the same as 8, but with measurements.
Coticule slurry 10 shows some more garnets with measurements.
Please note the pics are backwards in the album - 10 to 1.
: They will arrive tomorrow.
)
