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| Home > Publications database > Gamma Spectroscopy—A Possible Identification Method for the Artificial Irradiation of Morganite |
| Journal Article | IMPULSE-2026-00089 |
; ; ;
2024
Assoc.
London
Please use a persistent id in citations: doi:10.15506/JoG.2024.39.2.146
Abstract: Artificial irradiation is one of the most important methods used to enhance the colour of gem materials. The irradiation time is much shorter, and the energy dose is often much higher, than would occur in nature, but the treatment has been impossible or very difficult to identify since both laboratory and natural irradiation processes involve the same colouration mechanisms. For this study, several samples of beryl—specifically morganite—were studied by gamma-ray spectroscopy after being irradiated with electrons, which is the treatment method usually applied in commercial settings to intensify the pink to orange-pink colour of this gem material. Gamma-ray spectroscopy can be used to determine the type, specific (radio)activity and, often, the concentration of radionuclides. Due to the natural Cs content of morganite, irradiation with electrons typically produces small amounts of radioactive Cs isotopes (e.g. 132Cs and 134Cs) via a series of direct and indirect (secondary) nuclear reactions. The resulting activation is very weak but is nonetheless reliably detectable with gamma-ray spectroscopy—even for low Cs contents (<0.56 wt.% Cs2O). We found that 132Cs can be detected up to about two months after irradiation, while 134Cs should be detectable up to 4–18 years later, depending on sample size and Cs content.
Keyword(s): Instrument and Method Development (1st) ; Geosciences (2nd)
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