Surface cracking in proton-irradiated glass

Some observations are reported of the surface fracture behaviour of soda-lime glass slabs (6mm thick Pilkington float glass) irradiated with 480 kV protons. A simple indentation microfracture technique provided a convenient means of probing the irradiated surface regions. Basically, the technique involves loading a standard Vickers diamond pyramid indenter onto the area of interest such that a well-developed deformation/fracture pattern is generated. (author)