Introduction to Optical Mineralogy (3rd ed)

The third edition of "Introduction to Optical Mineralogy" provides complete coverage of the optical properties of minerals and describes more than 125 common rock-forming minerals.

Revised chapters on optical theory discuss the petrographic microscope, the nature and properties of light, the behaviour of light in isotropic and anisotropic materials, and uniaxial and biaxial anisotropic optics.

Comprehensive and accessible, this text is ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate classes in optical mineralogy.

Features of the third edition are: reorganized so silicates-which comprise over 95 per cent of the earth's crust-are discussed first to reflect their abundance and petrologic significance; includes numerous photomicrographs and revised electronic illustrations throughout the text; provides step-by-step procedures on using the petrographic microscope and a flow chart detailing the process of identifying unknown minerals; and covers light optics, opaque minerals, silicates, feldspars, zeolites, clay minerals, chain silicates, disilicates, ring silicates, carbonates, and native elements.