Determination of Silicon in Meteoritic Chondrules and Its Significance

The silicon abundances are determined in 20 chondrules from Jilin, Xin Yang, Boxian and Dontai meteorite and their whole rock samples by 14 MeV Neutron activation analysis. The silicon abundances are riched in chondrules compared to the whole chondrite. Systematic increasing in the silicon abundances of whole chondrites with E, H, L, LL is observed and also systematic increasing in the silicon abundances of non-magnetic chondrules from ordinary chondrites with H, L, LLis observed.The fact that the silicon abundances are riched in individual chondrules compared to the whole chondrites indicates indirectly that the chondrule formation is earlier than the matrix.