GEOLOGY 250 MINERALOGY
LABORATORY # 7
UNIAXIAL MINERALS OPTICS
Purpose: This lab will introduce you to some of the important optical properties of uniaxial minerals. Optically uniaxial minerals are those that belong to the tetragonal and hexagonal crystal systems. These minerals appear anisotropic in all orientations but one: that being the section cut perpendicular to the optic axis of the mineral, the c-axis.
In this lab you will;
A.
Observe and estimate birefringence.
B. Examine and describe
uniaxial interference figures in oriented thin sections.
C. Learn to find interference
figures in randomly oriented crystals in thin sections
D. Learn to use the
accessory plate to determine the optical sign of uniaxial minerals.
E. Uniaxial Flash
Interference Figure
F. Other common Uniaxial
minerals
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