Elemental maps of polished sections
Polished section through a meteorite. Pale green areas = magnesium silicate minerals called olivine, blue areas = the mineral pyroxene, yellow-white areas = calcium-rich material, red areas = iron-rich material.
Instrument used: JEOL 5900LV SEM
The JEOL 5900LV scanning electron microscope can be used to create elemental maps of polished sections to:
- find interesting and unusual materials
- illustrate textures
- measure area abundances
This colourful image of a polished meteorite section was created by colour-coding the X-rays emitted from the sample, to show where different chemical elements can be found.