Quartz Thin Section Properties
Detrital grains are usually more or less equant.
Quartz thin section properties. In crossed polarized light the quartz grain can go extinct all at once called monocrystalline quartz or in waves called polycrystalline quartz. Birefringence in the low to middle first order. Quartz thin section view description.
Colorless clear with no alterations. It is easy to determine on account of its lack of alteration absence of cleavage or twinning. Quartz is a uniaxial hexagonal rhombohedral mineral with extremely low birefringence.
Small 250x250 max medium 500x500 max. Some rock units that are stained by iron can be pink red or purple. Titanite im colourless or pale brown.
Home rocks and minerals quartz thin section reference url share. Other impurities can cause quartzite to be yellow orange brown green or blue. The refractive indexof quartz is 1 552 so in order to observe the birefringence of the mineral we made a slide of the mineral in a 1 538 oil.
When placed between two polarizing filters set at right angles to each other the optical properties of the minerals in the thin section alter the colour and intensity of the light as seen by the viewer. Shape isotropy and relief distinctive. To link to this object paste this link in email im or document to embed this object paste this html in website.
Plane cross polarized light field width is 6 mm. Crystals rounded or equant if well formed may have 6 or 8 sides in thin section. Sometimes it s better to let the quartz be a little thick than to risk grinding too much material off your thin section.