Abstract
INVESTIGATIONS of whiskers would be facilitated if they could be continuously observed during their growth within an electron microscope. It has been shown, for example, in the examination of fine glass fibres drawn within the microscope that an exposure to air of only a few seconds results in surface reactions which markedly increase the diameter of 1000 Å fibres and obscure structural features1. It was found in the work recorded here that the growth of lithium fluoride and magnesium oxide whiskers could be observed when thin foils prepared by a fracture and stripping technique2 were subjected to beam heating at 100 kV in a Hitachi ‘HU 11’ electron microscope. This is the first report, to our knowledge, of whisker formation in these materials except for those produced by cleavage3–5 or in a poisoned solution (lithium fluoride)6,7.
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HULSE, C., TICE, W. Growth of Lithium Fluoride and Magnesium Oxide Whiskers in the Electron Microscope. Nature 206, 79–80 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1038/206079a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/206079a0
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