Webinar: Rapid Identification of Inclusions and Minerals with Raman Spectroscopy

→ Sign Up for the Webinar In order to determine the conditions under which rocks and minerals are formed, a wide range of analytical techniques may be applied. Geological samples are difficult to analyze because some sample preparation methods are time consuming and costly, can disturb textures, introduce contamination, and cause damage to delicate features such as inclusions.  One feasible method, however, is Raman spectroscopy. Raman is a form of vibrational spectroscopy exhibits excellent selectivity for the purposes of material identification.  In Raman spectroscopy, an unknown sample of material is illuminated with monochromatic (single wavelength or single frequency) laser light, which  is scattered by the sample. Light scattered from the sample is due to either elastic collisions of the light with the sample’s molecules (Rayleigh scatter) or inelastic collisions (Raman scatter). Whereas Rayleigh scattered light has the same frequency (wavelength) of the incident laser light, Raman scattered light returns from the sample at different frequencies that are proportional to the vibrational frequencies of the bonds of the molecules in the sample. Since the bonds for every molecule are different, the Raman scattering for every molecule is also different. Thus, a Raman spectral “fingerprint” can be generated by recording the intensity of light as a function of the frequency difference between the laser and Raman scattered light. Thermo Fisher Scientific will be hosting a webinar on November 7^th explaining how Raman spectroscopyic analysis of geological samples can provide information that is complementary to other techniques or how it might be the only feasible method of analysis in a conventional laboratory. Topics covered will include:

• rapid identification of unknown minerals with no need for special sample preparation
• textural and mineralogical information about carbonate rocks
• analysis of unexposed mineral and fluid inclusions

The guest presenter is Dr. Antony Burnham, of Bristol University in the United Kingdom.  Dr. Burnham [MSci(Cantab), MA(Cantab), PhD(Lond)] is a Research Assistant at the University’s School of Earth Sciences, and he concentrates his research work on diamonds and inclusions.  During the webinar he will focus on geological analysis with Raman spectroscopy, specifically mineral and inclusion identification. Below are the webinar details.  There are two separate sessions offered, and they are each scheduled to run 25 minutes with an additional 5-minutes utilized for Q&A. Date: Thursday, November 7 Session 1: 10 a.m. EST / 15:00 GMT Session 2: 2 p.m. EST / 19:00 GMT Just click on this link to bring you to the Raman Spectroscopy Webinar sign-up page.