Rate of Sublimation of Ice by Radiative Heating in Freeze-Etching

To bring out details in the fractured surface of a frozen sample in the freeze fracture/freeze-etch technique,the sample or part of it is warmed to enhance water sublimation.One way to do this is to raise the temperature of the entire sample to about -100°C to -90°C. In this case sublimation rates can be calculated by using plots such as Fig.1 (Talmon and Thomas),or by simplified formulae such as that given by Menold and Liittge. To achieve higher rates of sublimation without heating the entire sample a radiative heater can be used (Echlin et al.). In the present paper a simplified method for the calculation of the rates of sublimation under a constant heat flux F [W/m2] at the surface of the sample from a heater placed directly above the sample is described.