2aosz016 Icolare spar - Wikipedia, te free encyclopedia
Iceland spar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Iceland spar, formerly known as Iceland crystal (Icelandic
silfurberg: lit. silver-rock), is a transparent variety of calcite, or
crystallized calcium carbonate, originally brought from Iceland,
and used in demonstrating the polarization of light (see
polarimetry).?J0] It occurs in large readily cleavable crystal:
easily divisible into rhombs, and is remarkable for its double
refraction. 415]
Historically, the double-refraction property of this crystal was
important to understanding the nature of light as a wave. This
was studied at length by Christiaan Huygens and Isaac Newton.9)
Sir George Stokes also studied the phenomenon.!”! Its complete
explanation in terms of light polarization was published by
Iceland spar, possibly the Icelandic
‘medieval sun stone used to locate the
sun in the sky when obstructed from
‘Augustin-Jean Fresnel in the 1820s.'8) view.)
Mines producing Iceland spar include many mines producing related calcite and aragonite as well as
those famously in Iceland,!") productively in the greater Sonoran desert region as in Santa Eulalia,
Chihuahua, Mexico!!! and New Mexico, United States,!'! as well as in the People's Republic of
China 121
Viking "sunstone"
Ithas been speculated that the sunstone (Old Norse: sdlarsteinn, a different mineral from the gem-
quality sunstone) mentioned in medieval Icelandic texts was Iceland spar, and that Vikings used its light-
polarizing property to tell the direction of the sun on cloudy days for navigational purposes.!Il'3) The
polarization of sunlight in the Aretic can be detected,(4I and the direction of the sun identified to within
a few degrees in both cloudy and twilight conditions using the sunstone and the naked eye.!'5] The
process involves moving the stone across the visual field to reveal a yellow entoptic pattern on the fovea
of the eye, probably Haidinger's brush, The recovery of an Iceland spar sunstone from the Elizabethan
ship Alderney, which sank in 1592, suggests that this navigational technology may have persisted after
the invention of the magnetic compass.!!61
Nicol prism
William Nicol (1770-1851) invented the first polarizing prism, using Iceland spar to create his Nicol
sml71
prism.
References
1. The Viking Sunstone (http://wwwpolarization.co 2. @ This article incorporates text from a publication
mviking/viking. html), from Polarization.net. now in the public domain: Porter, Noah, ed.
Retrieved February 8, 2007. (1913), Webster's Dictionary, Springfield,
Massachusetts: C. & G. Merriam Co.
hpfenwikipadia rgtwikitoland_spar 122aosz016
"Iceland spar". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd
ed.). Oxford University Press. September
2005. (Subscription or UK public library membership (h
Uup://www.oup.com/oxforddnbyinfofreeodnb libraries!)
required)
4. @ This article incorporates text from a
publication that is now in the public domain:
Webster, Noah, /828 Webster's Dictionary.
Springfield, Massachusetts: C. & G. Merriam Co.
5, Miers, Henry A., Mineralogy: an introduction to
the scientific study of minerals. Nabu Press. ISBN
1-177-85127-X Chap. 6, p. 128.
This article incorporates text from a publication
now in the public domain: Chambers, Ephraim,
ed. (1728), "article name needed Cyclopedia, or an
Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (first
ed.), James and John Knapton, et al
7, Larmor, Joseph 2010, Retrieved January 2, 2011
Memoir and scientific correspondence of the late
Sir George Gabriel Stokes, bart., selected and
arranged by Joseph Larmor (http://books. google.
com/books?id=Bg9DAAAAIAAS&pg=PA269&lps
=PA269). Nabu Press. ISBN 1-177-14275-9
E. T., A History of the Theories of
Aether and Electricity. Dublin University Press,
1910,
9, Russell, Daniel E . 17 February 2008. Retrieved
December 31, 2010. "Helgustadir Iceland Spar
Mine (http://www.mindat.org/article,php/190/Helg,
ustadirIceland+Spar+Mine)" mindat.org
10. Retrieved January 2, 2011. "Calcite (http://granite
gap.com/Minerals/Featured-Minerals/Calicite.asp
x)"Granite Gap "Several variety names exist for
calcite, Iceland Spar is an ice-clear variety that
demonstrates the effect of double refraction or
birefringence ... Young mountain ranges in
Mexico and South America also host fine
localities for calcite. They include Chihuahua,
Chihuahua; the Santa Eulalia Dist., Chihuahua;
Mapimi, Durango; Guanajuato, Guanajuato; and
Chareas, San Luis Potost; all Mexico"
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php’title=Iceland_spar&oldid=72199480
1.
12,
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14,
15.
16.
17.
Icolare spar - Wikipedia, te free encyclopedia
Kelley, Vincent C, 1940, Retrieved December 31,
2010. "Iceland Spar in Mew Mexico (http://www.
‘minsocam.org/msa/collectors_corner/arc/nmealcit
e.htm)". American Mineralogist, Volume 25,
pp. 357-367
WANG Jing-teng, CHEN Hen-shui, YANG En-
lin, WU Bo. 2009, Retrieved January 3, 2011
"Geological Characteristics of Iceland Spar
Mineral Deposit of Mashan District in Guizhou (h
ttp://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-KJ
(QB200933061.htm)". China National Knowledge
Infrastructure, P619.2
doi:CNKI:SUN:KJQB.0.2009-33-061 (http://en.c
nki.com.ca/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-KIQB20093,
3061.htm)
Karlsen, Leif K. 2003. Secrets of the Viking
Navigators. One Earth Press. ISBN 978-0-
9721515-0-4, 220 pp.
Hegediis, Ramén, Akesson, Susanne; Wehner,
Riidiger and Horvath, Gabor. 2007. "Could
Vikings have navigated under foggy and cloudy
conditions by skylight polarization? On the
atmospheric optical prerequisites of polarimetric
‘Viking navigation under foggy and cloudy skies".
Proc. R. Soc. A 463 (2080): 1081-1095.
doi:10.1098/rspa.2007.1811 (hitps://dx.doi.org/10.
1098%2Frspa.2007.1811). ISSN 0962-8452 (http
s://www.worldeat.org/search?fq=x0.jrnl&q=n2:09
62-8452)
Ropars, G. et al., 2011. A depolarizer as a
possible precise sunstone for Viking navigation by
polarized skylight, Proceedings of the Royal
Society A: Mathematical, Physical and
Engineering Science. Available at:
http://rspa.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/carly
[Accessed December 5, 2011]
First evidence of Viking-like ‘sunstone! found (htt
p:linews. discovery.com/earth/rocks-fossils/viking-
‘sunstone-shipwreck-130311. htm). Discovery.com.
Accessed 11 March 2013.
Greenslade, Thomas B., Jr. "Nicol Prism’
Kenyon College. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
Categories: Calcium minerals | Carbonate minerals | History of Iceland | Optical materials
Polarization (waves) | Transparent materials | Trigonal minerals | Christiaan Huygens
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