Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis on rock samples subjected to piezonuclear tests

In the present paper, Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) was performed on different samples of external or fracture surfaces coming from specimens used in piezonuclear tests [1,2]. For each sample, different measurements of the same crystalline phases (phengite and biotite) were performed in order to get averaged information of the chemical composition and to detect possible piezonuclear transmutations from iron to lighter elements. The results of EDS analyses show that, in the fracture surface samples, a considerable reduction in the iron content (∼25%) seems to be counterbalanced by an increase in Al, Si, and Mg concentrations.