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Updated: Jul 12, 2026
05:39
Shock Wave Application to Cell Cultures
Published on: April 8, 2014
Summary
Shocked quartz can transform into stishovite, a high-pressure silica polymorph. This study found stishovite in shocked sandstones and quartz, suggesting a new transformation pathway under extreme pressure and temperature conditions.
Area of Science:
- Geology
- Mineralogy
- Shock Physics
Background:
- Stishovite is a high-pressure polymorph of silica.
- Previous research indicates coesite as a common product of shocked quartz.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the formation of stishovite in explosively shocked quartz-bearing rocks.
- To understand the transformation mechanisms of quartz under shock conditions.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of explosively shocked sandstones, novaculite, and single-crystal quartz.
- Separation and identification of stishovite using microscopy and potentially other analytical techniques.
- Estimation of peak shock pressures (150-280 kbar) and temperatures (150-900°C).
Main Results:
- Small amounts of stishovite were successfully isolated from shocked specimens.
- No coesite was detected in any of the analyzed samples.
- Peak pressures ranged from 150 to 280 kilobars, with shock temperatures between 150°C and 900°C.
Conclusions:
- Quartz can invert to a short-range-order, six-coordinated phase under shock.
- This phase can transform into stishovite.
- Under specific conditions, such as during meteorite impacts, this phase may also invert to coesite.
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