THERMOLUMINESCENCE OF CEMENT

Cement is found to be a thermoluminescent material. The glow curves of ordinary portland cement obtained from two different sources are foun d to be qualitatively similar. White cement (J K Brand) exhibits inten se thermoluminescence (TL) compared to Birla white brand. The emission of J K white cement seems to be mainly due to Mn impurities which ent ers the product through limestone, the major ingredient in the prepara tion of cement. The possible use of TL as a spectroscopic technique to characterize cement is discussed.