Ko te Ekanite tētahi o ngā kōhatu mātātoa tino onge, whai hiranga pūtaia hoki kua tuhia ki roto i te mātāpūtaiao kohatu. Kāore i rite ki ngā kōhatu mātātoa tuku iho e whakanuia ana mō te wherikotanga o te kanohi me te pūmau o te tinana, e mōhiotia ana te Ekanite mō tōna hanganga matū motuhake me tōna iraruke tūturu. I kitea tuatahitia te kōhatu nei i te tau 1953 i roto i ngā kirikiri kohatu mātātoa o Sri Lanka, ā, i whakaingoatia i muri mai hei whakahōnore i te tohunga mātāpūtaiao kohatu a F. L. D. Ekanayake, nāna i tautuhi tuatahi te tauira. He pākawa konupūmā torio, he konupūmā hāora tēnei, e mau ana i ngā iraruke torio me te konupūmā hāora i te nuinga o te wā, e whakapā ana i te kōhatu ki tētahi tukanga e kīia nei ko te metamictization. I roto i tēnei tukanga, ka whakakorea haeretia te pūtakotoranga kirikiri o roto e te pirau iraruke, ā, ka huri haere te matū ki tētahi āhua kore hanganga, karaihe rānei. Nā tēnei āhuatanga, ka noho ko te Ekanite hei kaupapa ako ehara mā ngā kaikohi kohatu anake, engari mā ngā kairangahau hoki e aro ana ki ngā pānga wā roa o te iraruke ki runga i ngā hanganga kirikiri.
Te Hanganga me te Takenga Whenua o Ekanite
Ko te hanganga o te ekanite e pā ana ki ngā taiao whakawhanake i te wera nui, te pānga whakarerekē me ngā momo mahi toka papatūpaku motuhake. I te nuinga o te wā, ka puta ki ngā wāhi e pāhekoheko ai ngā wai waiwai kikī ki te pākeho, ki ētahi atu toka kua whai ki te konupūmā i raro i te wera nui me te pēhanga kaha. He maha ngā wā ka puta tēnei tukanga ki ngā rohe pānga e mōhiotia ana ko ngā skarns, i reira e taea ai e te whakaurunga o ngā mea ketika whenua onge me ngā isotope irirangi pēnei i te toriama me te uranu mai i te māka e kuhu ana te whakatau o te toriama konupūmā hiraka.
I te takotoranga taketake o te whenua, ka tio te ekanite hei kohuke tapawhā. Heoi, ko tōna putanga rongonui rawa atu kei ngā putunga parataiao tuarua o Sri Lanka. I ēnei wāhi, kua horo te kohuke mai i tōna toka kāinga taketake i roto i ngā miriona tau, ā, kua kawea e te wai ki roto i ngā kirikiri whai kōhatu utu nui. I roto i ngā wā whenua, ko te pirau iraruke o te toriuma me te uranana i roto i te anga o te kohuke anō, ka ārahi i tōna panonitanga ā-wā mai i te āhua tio ki te āhua metamikit, ki te āhua kore-tio rānei. Ko tēnei huarahi whanaketanga ahurei—mai i te tiotanga whakawhiti i te pāmahana tiketike ki te wehenga hanganga o roto—ka waiho te ekanite hei kaupapa nui mō te rangahau whenua me te rangahau kohuke.
Tae me te Āhua
Ka whakaatu a Ekanite i etahi ahuatanga tirohanga motuhake, ka puta tuatahi mai i nga momo atarangi o te kākāriki, pērā i te kākāriki-kōwhai, te kākāriki-oriwa, me te kākāriki-parāone. Ko nga putanga iti ake nei ko nga tauira e ahua hina ana, e tata kore tae rānei. I tōna āhua māori, ka kitea te wherikōingo karaihe o te kohuke, ā, he rerekē te māramatama mai i te kōhaha ki te pōkākā. Nā te kino o te hanganga o roto i takea mai i te pirautanga iraruke roa, he tino uaua te kite i nga tioata pai te hanga. Ko tēnei whakahekenga hanganga ka puta he ahua nunui atu, he ahua horoi-wai rānei i nga tauira mata, e tino whakanui ana i te uara o nga tioata kounga teitei, totika rānei, mā te hunga kohikohi kohatu me te hunga rangahau pūtaiao.
Iraruke me te Ahua Haumaru
Ko te āhuatanga pūtaiao whakamārama o te ekanite ko tōna irāitiurutanga. He kōhatu pākawa toriama konupūmā, kei roto i te kōhatu nei ngā taumata nui o te toriama (Th), me te nuinga o te wā te uranima (U), hei wāhanga o tōna hanganga matū taketake. Ko te pirau irāitiuru o ēnei pūmotu ka whakaputa i te irāitiuru arepa, peta, me te kama, ko te kaha o tēnei ka whakawhirinaki ki te taumata motuhake o te kiriata iraruke i roto i tētahi tauira.
I roto i te wā whaipara whenua, ko tēnei irarangi o roto ka puta ai te āhuatanga o te metamictization. Ko ngā matūriki alpha e tukuna ana i te wā o te pirau ka tuki ki te whāriki karaihe o te kōhuke, ā, ka nekehia pūnahanaha ngā ngota i ō rātou tūnga taketake. Ko tēnei tukanga ka whakangaro i te hanganga tetragonal raupapa, ka huri te ekanite ki te āhua amorphous, rite-karaehe. Ahakoa e waiho ana tēnei i te kōhuke hei kaupapa whakahihiri mō te rangahau whaipara-tāima, ka whakatau hoki i ngā tikanga whakahaere me te penapena motuhake mō ngā kaikohi.
Mai i te tirohanga haumaru, ahakoa kāore te kohatu ekanite iti kotahi e whakaputa i te mōrearea hauora whakapeka i te wā e whakamahia pototia ana, me whakahaere tūpato. Ko te āwangawanga matua ko te whakapae roa ki te hihi gamma me te horonga pūngao o te radon, te thoron rānei—ngā hua irirangi o te mekameka pirau—mena ka puritia te tauira ki tētahi wāhi kore hau. E whakahaua ana ngā kaikohi ki te penapena i ngā tauira ekanite ki ngā ipu ārahi, ki ngā wāhi whai hau pai rānei, e tawhiti atu ana i ngā wāhi noho. Waihoki, kaua rawa e mau te ekanite hei whakapaipai e pā tika ana ki te kiri mō ngā wā roa, ā, ko ngā puehu ka puta mai i ngā kohatu kua pakaru, kua taratara rānei, me whakaaro he mea whakakino koiora mōrearea.
Ekanite hei tauira nui i roto i te mātai kōhatu, e whakaatu ana i te hononga matatini i waenga i te whakaritenga tioata me te pirau iraruke. He kōhatu silika e kawe ana i te thorium, e whakaahuahia ana ehara i te tae kāriki-oriwa noa iho, engari mā te tukanga metamictization, e huri haere ai te kōhatu i te iraruke o roto mai i te whārangi hanganga ki tētahi āhua mokemoke. Ko tēnei āhuatanga ahurei e whakarato ana i te whare taiwhanga māori mō ngā kairangahau hei tiro i ngā pānga wā roa o ngā kāwaitara iraruke ki te matū mārō mō ngā miriona tau.Mai i tōna kitenga tuatahi i ngā kirikiri kohatu utu nui o Sri Lanka ki tōna whakarōpūtanga hei kohuke tino motuhake mā te kaikohi, ka noho tonu a ekanite hei kaupapa pūtaiao motuhake. Ko tōna āhua rua—he hua āhuahua o te whakapā metamorphism me te patunga o tōna ake kore pūmau matū—ka noho ia ki tētahi kāwai kohuke “ora” motuhake. Mō te hapori pūtaiao me ngā kaikohi matatau, kei tēnei hītori hurihanga te uara o ekanite. Ko te tiaki i tōna tapatahi mā te penapena tika me te whakahaere tika he mea nui tonu hei tikanga mō te ako tonu me te tiaki i tēnei kōhatu silika konupūmā thorium onge.