On the magnetic phases of natural pyrrhotites

Summary The magnetic phases of natural pyrrhotites were studied by the method of powder patterns, the chemism of the magnetic phases by means of the electron microprobe method, and the crystal phases by etching the polished sections. The method of powder patterns distinguished the ferrimagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases in the transition-type pyrrhotites. The method of absorbed electrons lead to the discovery that both phases have a different chemical composition and that the ferrimagnetic phase has a lower denisty and an average atomic number. The linear and point-by-point analysis disclosed that the ferrimagnetic phase has a lower weight content of Fe and a higher weight content of S than the antiferromagnetic phase. Both the magnetic phases displayed different properties when etched, and therefore they not only have a different chemical composition, but also a different crystal structure. The necessity of studying the image of the absorbed electrons and the image of the etched surface of the polycrystalline samples of pyrrhotites of the transition type separately on individual grains was pointed out.