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FrozenGate by Avery

experiments with minerals and lasers!

Krutz

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i just read mauswiesel's experiment with ulexite and different lasers, very beautiful, be sure to have a look at it:
http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1220656487

thinking about it, there are more things you can do with lasers and minerals!
mine all involve 405nm lasers and fluorescence:

-i separated topas and quartz, which sometimes, when in pieces without crystal-shape and not totally clear, look almost the same. topas fluorescences a light red, sometimes quite strong. quartz doesnt light at all.

-i tested that rock i was given decades ago, was told back then it was ruby. many many tiny red grains in a white matrix. on the laser, no fluorescence at all. doublechecked with my other rubys, they all light up red quite intensely. i bet they fluorescence in around 694nm.. ;-)

-i tested some small loose cut gems i got from ebay, with, you guessed it, my bluray. some light, some not. some time ago, but i think i could separate the stones in "probably natural" and "probably synthetic", since they packed one synthetic (and labeled as synthetic too) as free gift in my order

-i still am hunting for a fluorescent diamond. my sandgrain-sized crystal doesnt, the one in my moms ring doesnt. i think i need that 100mw bluray done soon! :-)

for all of that you definitely need googles to block the strong 405nm light, no way to see any fluorescence-"response" without! i got simple yellow sunglasses, which work well, and i see blue-"white" fluorescence through it. oh, i use only 10-15mw 405-output, else i would (and will) get proper laserprotection, please do so as well!

-i finally got a crystal of calcite, the double-refracting crystal. its quite clear. you put it on a piece of paper and see everything double. a line would look like two parallel lines. it works as it has different diffraction for different polarized light. vertically polarised light goes through, horizontally polarized light goes through in a small (really small) angle. what i heard, the regular polarizing-beamsplitter-cubes are made of this natural stuff too, no good cheap way to synthesize it or build a substitute. have to check that some day, cant really believe that..
oh, yea, wait, my experiment with that crystal: dissapointing. in theory, i would get two dots out of it, in small different angle. the distortion is so big that i dont have any dot at all.. :-)

so far my experiments. any you did?
and if someone must have pics, let me know, and i'll dig out that minerals-box again..

manuel
 





Krutz said:
-i finally got a crystal of calcite, the double-refracting crystal. its quite clear. you put it on a piece of paper and see everything double. a line would look like two parallel lines. it works as it has different diffraction for different polarized light. vertically polarised light goes through, horizontally polarized light goes through in a small (really small) angle. what i heard, the regular polarizing-beamsplitter-cubes are made of this natural stuff too, no good cheap way to synthesize it or build a substitute. have to check that some day, cant really believe that..
oh, yea, wait, my experiment with that crystal: dissapointing. in theory, i would get two dots out of it, in small different angle. the distortion is so big that i dont have any dot at all.. :-)
This birefringent crystal is used for waveplates in optical storage media puckups. It's part M on Sam's blu-ray dissection. Polarized beam splitters make use of a different phenomenon that every shiny material got: Brewster's angle reflection at precisely the cemented plane between the triangles.

And, try to rotate the laser around it's axis while shining it through the stone. I think this should modulate the brightness of the spots.
 
aaaaah, interesting! now i get it! i will have to "research" more on that stuff, have everything laying around somewhere!

manuel
 
I have some calcite rock outside that I think phosphoresces (retains a short glow after being lit). It's a faint orange or something. I'd like to find out other minerals that'd do that though.
 
Bionic-Badger said:
I have some calcite rock outside that I think phosphoresces (retains a short glow after being lit).  It's a faint orange or something.  I'd like to find out other minerals that'd do that though.


Google "long wave ultra violet" (and any alterations like "LWUV") AND fluorescence and/or fluorescent.

Peace,
dave
 





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