Abstract
Synthetic olivines, with composition Fa50, Fa75 and Fa100, have been transformed into spinel in a laser-heated diamond-cell at pressures from 70 to 200 kbar and at a luminance temperature of about 1,200° C. The electrical conductivity σ was measured, at room temperature and up to 200 kbar, on olivine (Lacam 1982; 1983) and spinel (present study). The data obtained permit the following conclusions:
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a)
Sample nature effect: under the same conditions (composition, pressure), the σ of spinel is more than three orders of magnitude of the σ of olivine.
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b)
Composition effect: there are more than three orders of magnitude between the values of σ for spinels derived from initial compositions of Fa50 and Fa100, respectively.
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c)
Pressure effect: The P-effect on σ is greater for olivines than for spinels.
Besides, as in the case of olivine, in spinel the σ obeys an empirical Boltzmann relation:
where the first and second term are the composition and pressure contributions, respectively; x the ratio Fa/Fo in mole percent.
In spinel, the activation volume, in direct connection with S, was found to be in the order of 0.3 cm3/mol, about one half of that for olivine.
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Lacam, A. Effects of composition and high pressures on the electrical conductivity of Fe-rich (Mg, Fe)2SiO4 olivines and spinels. Phys Chem Minerals 12, 23–28 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00348742
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00348742