Freeze-fracture
Freeze-fracture processes and methods / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Freeze-fracture is a natural occurrence leading to processes like erosion of the earths crust or simply deterioration of food via freeze-thaw cycles.[1][2] To investigate the process further freeze-fracture is artificially induced to view in detail the properties of materials. Fracture during freezing is often the result of crystallizing water which results in expansion. Crystallization is also a factor leading to chemical changes of a substance due to changes in the crystal surroundings called eutectic formation.[3]
Imaging the fractured surface of a frozen substance allows the interior of the structure to be investigated as illustrated by the picture of a fractured piece of glacier called an iceberg. By photographing at high magnifications more can be learnt about the fractured object's substructure and the changes in the object that occur during freezing. When imaging fractured surfaces in detail, changes occurring during and immediately after fracture as well as sample preparation, must be taken into account if trying to infer the unbroken material's structure.[4][5] The often relatively cold temperatures needed to make an object solid enough to fracture, and the fracture process itself, stress and deform the material. Imaging of fine detail under sub-zero conditions is difficult. The material will start to warm again when removed to a position for photography. Ambient gases, often water vapor, will condense on the cold surfaces, reacting with them, obscuring detail and further warming the object allowing it to reshape.[6][7]