Mechanodestruction of minerals at the crack tip (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Overview</Emphasis>): 1. Experiment

The kinetics of the amount of volatiles emitted from synthetic and natural calcite single crystals while cleaving and grinding are determined using time-of-flight mass spectrometry. It is revealed that the CO₂ emission is a product of mechano destruction rather than the release of impurities trapped in the crystal. Irradiation of calcite increases the CO₂ emission. A diffusion–desorption model is suggested to explain the kinetics of volatile emission from cleaved surfaces and experimental results on the emission of volatile products during the mechano destruction of various single crystals are summarized. The effects of several sources of systematic errors are discussed. The yield of volatiles is correlated with the speed of the brittle crack propagation and the physicochemical properties of minerals.