Crystal Identification with the Polarizing Microscope - Softcover

Stoiber, R.E.; Morse, S.A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0412048310 ISBN 13: 9780412048319

Publisher: Springer, 1994

Synopsis

Some of the simpler measurements of optical mineralogy are so precise and powerful that they give satisfaction to beginning students. Not long after mastering the strike and dip of rock surfaces with the Brunton compass, many geology students are able to determine precisely the identity of quartz, or the anorthite content of plagioclase, or the magne­ sium ratio of pyroxene with the polarizing or petrographic microscope, by means of measuring refractive index to better than one part in a thousand. Very little training and almost no theory are needed to achieve these skills. But there inevitably comes a time when theory is needed, either to get on with the art, or simply to reconstruct from first principles what is going on, when rote memory fails. In this book we hope to provide both the rote methods and the theoretical background for practitioners at all levels of experience. We draw from several careers-ours, our colleagues', and our students' -in teaching the subject at various levels of sophistication. Our book is intended to serve the needs of industrial and forensic scientists as well as petrogra­ phers who deal with rocks. Much of our treatment is based on new research, both in matters of presentation and in the optical determination of minerals and other materials.

About this title

Review

Crystal Identification with the Polarizing Microscope is a wonderful, user-friendly book. The authors state that their emphasis is practical but with enough theory to make rigorous understanding possible.....book is suitable over the entire range from an undergraduate text to a guide for advanced graduate students. The two strong points of the book are that it conveys the vast and varied experience of its authors, and that it uses immersion techniques to teach theory - The Canadian Mineralogist, vol.33; Crystal Identification with the Polarizing Microscope is a wonderful, user-friendly book. The authors state that their emphasis is practical but with enough theory to make rigorous understanding possible.....book is suitable over the entire range from an undergraduate text to a guide for advanced graduate students. The two strong points of the book are that it conveys the vast and varied experience of its authors, and that it uses immersion techniques to teach theory - The Canadian Mineralogist, vol.33; Crystal Identification with the Polarizing Microscope is a wonderful, user-friendly book. The authors state that their emphasis is practical but with enough theory to make rigorous understanding possible.....book is suitable over the entire range from an undergraduate text to a guide for advanced graduate students. The two strong points of the book are that it conveys the vast and varied experience of its authors, and that it uses immersion techniques to teach theory - The Canadian Mineralogist, vol.33; ...I enjoyed reading this book from cover to cover, probably because it presents optical mineralogy at a much more applied level than usual - American Mineralogist; ...I enjoyed reading this book from cover to cover, probably because it presents optical mineralogy at a much more applied level than usual - American Mineralogist

Synopsis

This text describes the theory and practice of optical mineralogy in terms useful to all practitioners from the beginning student to the professional in field and laboratory geology and industrial and environmental mineralogy. The author's aim is to provide the simplest possible access to the most powerful techniques of optical crystal identification. The book emphasizes useful practical theoretical material and methods for studying both thin sections of rocks and immersion of mineral grains in refractive index liquids. It contains original research results found in no other text. A major goal of the text is to allow precise determination of refractive index and the essential composition of crystals belonging to important mineral groups such as olivine, feldspar, and pyroxene.New methods for achieving this are developed for both white light and colored light of variable wavelength. Among the book's unique features is the color fringe chart developed by Prof. Morse for estimating both the direction and degree of mismatch between the refraction index of a crystal and that of the surrounding liquid medium in the immersion method.

Further, a new algebraic treatment of the dispersion method allows a high precision of match between crystal and liquid. An original classification of interference figures aids crystal identification.Worked examples of refractive index determination and crystal identification are given for each optical class of crystals. The optic orientation of optically biaxial crystals is illustrated with examples from each crystal system portrayed in stereographic projection. Principles and applications of crystal identification with the dispersion method are developed in a separate chapter. The final chapter is a practical, step-by-step guide to crystal identification in thin section or immersion. An identification table for the most common asbestos minerals, including the dispersion staining method used by most environmental laboratories.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0412048310
• ISBN 13: 9780412048319
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288