Liverpool Regional High School - Nova Scotia students work with Alberta researchers at CLS (in SK) on meteorites!
Reflecting the national and interdisciplinary nature of synchrotron research, Easter weekend saw five students from Liverpool Regional High School working with a chemist from the University of Saskatchewan, a physicist from CLS, and a chemistry/geology team from the University of Alberta on a sample from out of this world. Meteorites sample the solar system and present to us materials that we cannot obtain from our earthly location. It is from studies of such samples that information has been gleaned about inaccessible parts of our world and solar system. Detailed chemical and structural analysis will contribute to an even deeper understanding of our universe. Additional learning potential is presented in the fact that this experiment had not been conducted on magnetic material before, making understanding the complexities of the detection system extremely important for the students.
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Students learned geology through studying meteorites, including their identification… |
…and how structural and chemical composition reveals information about the universe (image on the left is of the meteorite sample – colours indicate areas scanned; image on the right indicates the absorption of nickel in the coloured areas) |
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A close up of the sample holder. Light enters the holder through the hole on the top to interact with the surface of the piece of meteorite inside. |
The holder is placed in this chamber (with the x-rays entering from the right) |
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Participating in a novel experimental set up enables a clear understanding of the beamline’s complexities |
After successfully collecting data, the interpretation begins – what does the spectra mean … |
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… and how does that relate to other things? |
Nothing like relaxing and putting everything together at the end of the day ☺ |
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Last modified: 2012-01-19 17:01:02