Compositional Averaging of Continuum Intensities in Multielement Compounds

We find no physical basis for traditional mass-fraction weighted averaging of X-ray continuum measured in pure elements to estimate continuum production from compounds. Measurements of continuum from pairs of stable isotopes demonstrate that mass alone (the presence of more or fewer neutrons) has no...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microscopy and microanalysis 2002-10, Vol.8 (5), p.429-436
Main Authors: Donovan, John J., Pingitore, Nicholas E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemical Phenomena
Chemistry, Physical
Electron Probe Microanalysis - statistics & numerical data
Electrons
Elements
Isotopes
MICROANALYSIS
Scattering, Radiation
Stable isotopes
Standard deviation
X-Rays
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Summary:We find no physical basis for traditional mass-fraction weighted averaging of X-ray continuum measured in pure elements to estimate continuum production from compounds. Measurements of continuum from pairs of stable isotopes demonstrate that mass alone (the presence of more or fewer neutrons) has no effect on continuum production in electron probe microanalysis. Electron-fraction weighted averaging, which is based on the relative contribution of each constituent element to the electron (or proton) composition of a compound, proved superior to mass-fraction weighted averaging, in predicting the continuum of a compound from the measured continuum of its elements.
ISSN:1431-9276
1435-8115
DOI:10.1017/S1431927602020160