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Static amorphization of anorthite at 300 K and comparison with diaplectic glass

Abstract

DIAPLECTIC glass, which is produced without fusion, is characteristic of meteorite impact sites in feldspar- and quartz-rich sites on the Earth and Moon; it has also been produced in laboratory shock experiments1–3. Its presence in nature is thus considered to be strong evidence of exposure to a high-pressure shock wave generated by impact. The formation of such glasses has been universally interpreted in terms of the brief, high-temperature and high-pressure conditions characteristic of shock loading. Here we report that crystalline anorthite (Ca Al2Si2O8) becomes amorphous at static pressures of between 22 and 28 GPa at 300 K. The amorphization is associated with a pressure-induced increase in the coordination of silicon and aluminium by oxygen, from fourfold to five- and sixfold. The increase in coordination appears as the sample vitrifies at pressure; on decompression, the coordination reverts to fourfold. The vitrification is spatially heterogeneous, and may be crystallographically controlled. The formation of glass from crystalline material under static conditions at 300 K indicates that the high strain rates and temperatures associated with shock compression are not required for the creation of glasses without fusion.

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Williams, Q., Jeanloz, R. Static amorphization of anorthite at 300 K and comparison with diaplectic glass. Nature 338, 413–415 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/338413a0

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