OPTICAL MINERALOGY

POLARIZED/UNPOLARIZED LIGHT

Rio Cendrajaya
TEKNIK GEOLOGI UHO
Why use the microscope??
• Identify minerals (no guessing!)
• Determine rock type
• Determine crystallization sequence
• Document deformation history
• Observe frozen-in reactions
• Constrain P-T history
• Note weathering/alteration
• Fun, powerful, and cheap!
 The petrographic microscope
Also called a
polarizing
microscope

In order to use the scope, we need to understand a little about

the physics of light, and then learn some tools and tricks…
What happens as light moves through the scope?
your eye

amplitude, A light travels

as waves
wavelength,

light ray

waves travel from

source to eye

light source
A : amplitude

V : velocity

f : frecuency

: wavelength

V=f.
High energy

Low energy
What happens as light moves through the scope?

Microscope light is white light,

i.e. it’s made up of lots of different wavelengths;
Each wavelength of light corresponds to a different color

Can prove this with a prism,

which separates white light into its
constituent wavelengths/colors
 Non-Polarized Light
 Light vibrates in all directions
perpendicular to ray path

Multiple rays, vibrate

in all directions

Highly idealized –
only 1 wavelength
 Polarized light
 Vibrates in only one plane
 Generation of polarized light:
 In anisotropic material, light usually resolves into two rays
 Two rays vibrate perpendicular to each other
 The energy of each ray absorbed by different amounts
 If all of one ray absorbed, light emerges vibrating in only
one direction
 Called “Plane Polarized Light”
Anisotropic medium: Polarized light
light split into two
rays. One fully vibrates in only one
absorbed plane: “Plane-
polarized light”
What happens as light moves through the scope?

propagation
direction

plane of light vibrates in

vibration all planes that contain
the light ray
(i.e., all planes
vibration perpendicular to
direction the propagation
direction
Apa yang terjadi saat cahaya masuk mineral??
Isotropic minerals: light does not get
rotated or split; propagates with same
velocity in all directions

Isotropic Mineral
All light propagating  the section
 have the same RI of n

Incoming light can (and will)

vibrate in the same direction it did
prior to entry

If unpolarized, it will remain so

Fig 6-5 Bloss, Optical
Crystallography, MSA The only effect is slower velocity
(shown by closer symbol spacing)
Apa yang terjadi saat cahaya masuk mineral??
All anisotropic minerals can resolve light into two plane
polarized components that travel at different velocities and
vibrate in planes that are perpendicular to one another

fast ray Anisotropic Mineral

slow ray Light will be split into two rays of
different velocities (fast ray and
slow ray)
mineral
grain
When light gets split:
-velocity changes
-rays get bent (refracted)
plane polarized -2 new vibration directions
light -usually see new colors

W E Anisotropic minerals show double

lower polarizer
refraction
 Some generalizations and vocabulary
• All isometric minerals (e.g., garnet) are isotropic – they
cannot reorient light. These minerals are always black in
crossed polars. And occurs in istropic materials, air,
water, glass, etc.

• All other minerals are anisotropic – they are all capable

of reorienting light (acting as magicians).

• All anisotropic minerals contain one or two special

directions that do not reorient light.
– Minerals with one special direction are called uniaxial
– Minerals with two special directions are called biaxial
 1) Light passes through the lower polarizer
west
(left)

Unpolarized light Plane polarized light

east
(right)

Only the component of light vibrating in E-W

PPL=plane polarized light direction can pass through lower polarizer –
light intensity decreases
 2) Insert the upper polarizer
west (left)
north
(back)

south
(front)
east (right) Black!!

Now what happens?

What reaches your eye?

Why would anyone design a microscope that

prevents light from reaching your eye???
XPL=crossed nicols
(crossed polars)
 3) Now insert a thin section of a rock
west (left)

Unpolarized light
east (right)

Light and colors

Light vibrating E-W reach eye!
Light vibrating in
many planes and with
many wavelengths

How does this work??

 Conclusion has to be that minerals somehow
reorient the planes in which light is vibrating;
some light passes through the upper polarizer

Minerals act as
magicians!!

But, note that some minerals are better magicians than others
(i.e., some grains stay dark and thus can’t be reorienting light)
Setting #1: No upper analyzer Setting #2: Upper analyzer inserted

Nikol Sejajar/Plane Polarized Light Nikol Silang/Cross Polarized Light

Quartz crystals in plane Same quartz crystals with

polarized light analyzer inserted (cross
polarizers aka crossed nicols)
 4) Note the rotating stage
Most mineral grains change color as the stage is
rotated; these grains go black 4 times in 360°
rotation-exactly every 90o

These minerals are

anisotropic

Glass and a few minerals stay

black in all orientations

These minerals
are isotropic
How light behaves depends on crystal structure
(there is a reason you took mineralogy!)

Isotropic Isometric
– All crystallographic axes are equal
Uniaxial
Hexagonal, trigonal, tetragonal
– All axes  c are equal but c is unique
Biaxial
Orthorhombic, monoclinic, triclinic
– All axes are unequal

Let’s use all of this information to help us identify minerals

 Microscopic Identification

A. Parallel Nicol (PPL)

Analisator
1. Shape and cleavage
2. Relief
3. Refractive index Compensator
4. Color and pleochroic

B. Crossed Nicol (XPL)

Lensa
1. Birefringence (interference color) conoscopic
2. Orientation of light vibration
Polarisator
3. Extinction
4. Twinning