Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana Volumen 67, núm. 3, 2015, p. 401-412 http://dx.doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2015v67n3a4

Experimental chondrules by melting samples of olivine, clays and carbon with a CO₂laser

 Karina E. Cervantes-de la Cruz^1,2,*, Fernando Ortega Gutiérrez³, Jesús Solé Viñas³, Antígona Segura Peralta¹, Margarita Adela Reyes Salas³, Blanca Sonia Ángeles García³, María del Consuelo Macías Romo³, Carlos Linares-López⁴

¹ Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, México D.F.
² Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, México D.F.
³ Instituto de Geología, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, México D.F.
⁴ Instituto de Geofísica, Ciudad Universitaria, Delegación Coyoacán, C.P. 04510, México D.F.

^* This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

 Chondrules are the major constituents of chondritic meteorites; however, their origin is still an enigma for meteoritic science. In this work we report the results of melting minerals to experimentally generate objects similar to chondrules. The degree of fusion of olivine appears to be an important factor in determining the width of the bars in samples with barred-type olivine (BO) chondrules. On the other hand, the contribution of clays and carbon (possible precursor grains) is an important factor in those experiments where the melted samples showed porphyritic texture.

Keywords: experimental chondrules, chondrites, CO₂laser.