Optical Mineralogy in a Nutshell

Use of the petrographic microscope

in three easy lessons
Part II
2003 Prof. Jane Selverstone
Used and modified with permission
Quick review
Isotropic minerals velocity changes as light enters
mineral, but then is the same in all directions thru xtl;
no rotation or splitting of light.
Anisotropic minerals light entering xtls is split and
reoriented into two plane-polarized components that
vibrate perpendicular to one another and travel w/
different speeds.
Uniaxial minerals have one special direction along which light
is not reoriented; characterized by 2 RIs.
Biaxial minerals have two special directions along which light
is not reoriented; characterized by 3 RIs.
These minerals are characterized by a single RI
(because light travels w/ same speed throughout xtl)
Determining if mineral is uniaxial or biaxial
Uniaxial
If Uniaxial, isogyres define a
cross; arms remain N-S/E-W
as stage is rotated
Biaxial
or
If Biaxial, isogyres define a curve that
rotates with stage, or cross that
breaks up as stage is rotated
Reminder about how to get an interference figure
1. Find a grain that stays dark as stage is rotated
2. Go to highest power objective
3. Swing the condenser in and open the diaphragm iris
4. Insert the Bertrand Lens (if present) or remove the
eyepiece.
5. Look down the scope and then rotate stage
Determining optic sign
Now determine the optic sign of the mineral:
1. Rotate stage until isogyre is concave to NE (if biaxial)
2. Insert gypsum accessory plate
3. Note color in NE, immediately adjacent to isogyre --
Blue = (+)
Yellow = (-)
Uniaxial
Biaxial
(+)
(-)
Weve talked about minerals splitting light -
heres what it looks like.
calcite calcite
ordinary
ray, w
(stays stationary)
extraordinary
ray, e
(rotates)
single light ray coming into cc is split into two
e ray is refracted - changes direction & speed
rays have different velocities, hence different RIs
stationary ray=ordinary, rotating ray=extraordinary
because refraction of e is so large, Calcite must have hi d
(remember: d = n
hi
- n
lo
)

Conclusions from calcite experiment
If we were to look straight down c-axis, we would see
only one dot no splitting!
The c-axis is the optic axis for Calcite
(true for all Uniaxial minerals, but unfortunately not for Biaxial minerals)
Birefringence/interference colors
Retardation in nanometers
T
h
i
c
k
n
e
s
s

i
n

m
i
c
r
o
n
s

birefringence
Back to birefringence/interference colors
Observation: frequency of
light remains unchanged
during splitting, regardless of
material
F= V/l
if light speed changes,
l must also change
l is related to color; if l changes,
color changes
waves from the two rays can be in
phase or out of phase upon leaving
the crystal
mineral
grain
plane polarized
light
fast ray
(low n)
slow ray
(high n)
lower polarizer
D=retardation
d
When waves are in phase, all light gets killed
When waves are out of phase, some component of light
gets through upper polarizer and the grain displays an
interference color; color depends on retardation
When one of the vibration directions is parallel to the

Interference phenomena
lower polarizer, no
light gets through
the upper polarizer and
the grain is at
extinction (=black)
mineral
grain
plane polarized
light
fast ray
(low n)
slow ray
(high n)
lower polarizer
D=retardation
d
At time t, when slow ray 1
st
exits xtl:
Slow ray has traveled distance d
Fast ray has traveled distance d+D
time = distance/rate
Slow ray: t = d/V
slow


Fast ray: t= d/V
fast
+ D/V
air


Therefore: d/V
slow
= d/V
fast
+ D/V
air
D = d(V
air
/V
slow
- V
air
/V
fast
)
D = d(n
slow
- n
fast
)
D = d d
D = thickness of t.s. x birefringence
Determining optic sign with the gypsum plate - what happens?
blue in NE = (+)
Gypsum plate has constant D of
530 nm = 1
st
-order pink

Isogyres = black: D=0
Background = gray: D=150

Add to/subtract from 530 nm:

530+150=680 nm = blue = (+)
530-150=380 nm = yellowish = (-)

Addition = slow + slow
Subtraction = slow + fast
Lets look at interference colors in a natural thin section:
Note that different grains of the same mineral show
different interference colors why?
ol
ol
ol
ol
ol
ol
plag
plag
plag
plag
plag
plag
Different grains of same mineral are in different orientations
Time for another concept: the optical indicatrix
Thought experiment:
Consider an isotropic mineral (e.g., garnet)
Imagine point source of
light at garnet center;
turn light on for fixed
amount of time, then map
out distance traveled by
light in that time
What geometric shape is defined by mapped light rays?
Isotropic indicatrix
Soccer ball
(or an orange)
Light travels the same
distance in all directions;
n is same everywhere,
thus d = n
hi
-n
lo
= 0 = black
anisotropic minerals - uniaxial indicatrix
quartz
calcite
c-axis
c-axis
Lets perform the same thought experiment
Uniaxial indicatrix
c-axis
c-axis
Spaghetti squash = Uniaxial (+)
tangerine = Uniaxial (-)
quartz
calcite
The shapes reflect the relative sizes of indices of refraction
Circular section is perpendicular to the stem (c-axis)
Uniaxial indicatrix
n
w

n
e

n
w

n
w

Uniaxial Indicatrix
n
e
n
w
a=X
c=Z
b=Y
n
e
a=X
c=Z
n
w
b=Y
What can the indicatrix tell us about
optical properties of individual grains?
Uniaxial (+)
Uniaxial (-)
n
w
- n
w
= 0
therefore, d=0: grain stays black
(same as the isotropic case)
n
e
n
w
a=X
c=Z
b=Y
n
w
n
w
Propagate light along the c-axis,
note what happens to it in plane of
thin section
Grain changes color upon rotation.
Grain will go black whenever indicatrix
axis is E-W or N-S
n
e
n
w
This orientation will show the maximum d of the mineral
n
e

n w

n
e
- n
w
> 0
therefore, d > 0
N
S
W E
Now propagate light perpendicular to c-axis
anisotropic minerals - biaxial indicatrix
clinopyroxene
feldspar
Now things get a lot more complicated
Biaxial indicatrix
(triaxial ellipsoid)
OA OA
2V
z
Y
X
Z
n

The potato!
2V
z

There are 2 different ways to cut this and get a circle
Alas, the potato (indicatrix) can have any orientation
within a biaxial mineral
c
a
b
Z
X
Y
Y
a
Z
b
X
c
olivine
augite
(cpx)
but there are a few generalizations that we can make
The potato has 3 perpendicular principal axes of
different length thus, we need 3 different RIs
to describe a biaxial mineral
X direction = n

(lowest)
Y direction = n

(intermed; radius of circ. section)

Z direction = n

(highest)
Orthorhombic: axes of indicatrix coincide w/ xtl axes
Monoclinic: Y axis coincides w/ one xtl axis
Triclinic: none of the indicatrix axes coincide w/ xtl axes
OA OA
2V
z
Y
X
Z
n

2V: a diagnostic property of biaxial minerals

When 2V is acute about Z: (+)
When 2V is acute about X: (-)
When 2V=90, sign is indeterminate
When 2V=0, mineral is uniaxial
2V is measured using an interference figure
More in a few minutes
How interference figures work (Uniaxial example)
Bertrand
lens
Sample
(looking down OA)
substage
condensor
Converging lenses force light
rays to follow different paths
through the indicatrix
W E
N-S polarizer
What do we see?
Effects of multiple cuts thru indicatrix
e
w
e
w
e
w
e
w
Biaxial interference figures
There are lots of types of biaxial figures well concentrate on only two
1. Optic axis figure - pick a grain that stays dark on rotation
Will see one
curved isogyre
determine 2V from curvature of isogyre
90 60 40
See Nesse or handout
determine sign w/ gypsum plate
(+) (-)
2. Bxa figure (acute bisectrix) - obtained when you are looking straight
down between the two O.A.s. Hard to find, but look for a grain with
intermediate d.

Biaxial interference figures
Use this figure to get sign and 2V:
(+)
2V=20 2V=40 2V=60
See handout/Nesse
OA OA
2V
z
Y
X
Z
n

Quick review of why we use indicatrix:

Indicatrix gives us a way to relate optical phenomena to
crystallographic orientation, and to explain differences
between grains of the same mineral in thin section
OA OA
2V
z
Y
X
Z
n

hi d
OA OA
2V
z
Y
X
Z
n

lo d
Isotropic? Uniaxial? Biaxial? Sign? 2V?
All of these help us to uniquely identify unknown minerals.