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Re: TLN?


I'll try to explain thermoluminescence as it was explained to me for use 
in dating ceramics in archaeological contexts.

When certain materials (like feldspar) are heated to a certain temperature 
(400') they release any stored up energy that they had stored up until 
that time. So when a meteor enters the atmosphere it heats up and (I'm 
assuming here) that any stored up energy is released from the parts of 
the meteor that are heated above the specific temperature acquired (I'm 
assuming the centres of meteorites don't attain the temperature of the 
outer areas, ie. fusion crust)
For the length of time that the meteorite sits and waits for someone 
lucky enough to find it, the area which was heated and released it's 
energy begins to conserve energy once again. When found the material can 
be reheated and the amount of energy released (as light) can be measured. 
The amount of light released is a reflection of the time since the 
material was last heated. More energy (light) means more time. 
Different materials have different measures of energy and these must be 
known before hand for the dating to be effective.

Hope I didn't present too much disinformation :)
It's been a little while

Hope this helps
JM
 
* Jamie McDougall        Collector of:  Native Artifacts & Baskets *      
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