Compositional and microchemical evidence of piezonuclear fission reactions in rock specimens subjected to compression tests

Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) is performed on different samples of external or fracture surfaces belonging to specimens used in piezonuclear tests [Strain 45, 2009, 332; Strain (in press); Phys. Lett. A. 373, 2009, 4158]. For each sample, different measurements of the same crystalline phases (phengite or biotite) are performed to obtain averaged information of the chemical composition and to detect possible piezonuclear transmutations from iron to lighter elements. The samples were carefully chosen to investigate and compare the same minerals both before and after the crushing failure. Phengite and biotite, which are quite common in the Luserna stone (20 and 2%, respectively), are considered owing to the high iron concentration in their chemical compositions. The results of EDS analyses show that, on the fracture surface samples, a considerable reduction in the iron content (∼25%) is counterbalanced by an increase in Al, Si, and Mg concentrations.