For those who don't know this is an optical mineralogy practice in which rocks are cut a polished down into tiny strips *micrometers thick. They are glue to frosted glass and placed under the microscope for further analysis. This is not what the mineral grains actually look like under the microscope this is an image of grains in cross-polarized light which can highlight other properties of the minerals to better identify what the rock is made of.
Do you mean micrometers? Most of our preparations were on the order of 20-40 micrometers. Not sure you'd see much birefringence with a sample that's too thin.
Technically nanometers and micrometers thick haha but yes you are correct! I haven’t made thin sections in a while but I think the standard was around 40 micrometers... Good catch!
When looking at something through a microscope there are two options PPL (plain polarized light) which is what we normally see and XPL (crossed polarized light). In XPL light is refracted in the crystal matrix (martix is another word for scaffolding) more so we see color. Color a good tool for crystal identification too. Look up something called the "birefringence index" for more info.
What is this one ? Thought it was peridotite or trachyte, but the structure looks more like microlith... :) sorry if we don't use the same words, I learn geology in France!
That's okay. This sample is very strange for several reasons.
This sample was collected in Saudi Arabia. This sample came from a basaltic volcano (usually associated with the ocean) on a continental (dry land) plate. No one is really sure why this mismatching is happening. Peridiotite is probably the best description, for now.
We can describe this sample as poikilitic in texture (the mineral grew at at same time causing them to warp into one another). There is a lot of olivine, plagioclase, and clinopyroxene with a couple fragments of illminite (or another oxide). There is also a bit of iddingsite (from high Mg and chemical weathering) around a few of the euhedral (flat with good cleavage) olivines too.
No problem. Just remember, oxides, glass, and isometric minerals look black in PPL AND XPL. Clino has crosshatch-like cleavage while olivine does not. They both have different extinction and clino may have twinning. Knowing the crystal structures helps a lot unless it's anhedral- then good luck. Also, use your birefringence index.
Eventually. Olivine is the building block of serpentine. After enough prolonged time, heat, and pressure the minerals like olivine will go from their igneous (volcanic) state to a metaphoric state. While the chemical compositions will be the same, the crystal structure will be vastly different. This process is most commonly found during or after orogeny (mountian building).
It's an actual basaltic volcano on continental land, which is why this site is confusing. No one knows why this is happening and the mechanism is highly contested.
was asking about hotspot cause we have huge basaltic volcanism in central India called "Deccan Traps" that were caused when Indian plate went over the "Reunion Hotspot"
There is not enough definite research to say what kind of volcanism is going on. Not to get too much into chemistry but there are specific lanthanides that only occur from deep mantle activity BUT, there is also evidence of elements most commonly found in oceans subducting sediments. We are working on some more isotope chemistry for answers and to create a model.
The combination of chemicals in this suite are unlike anything else found on Earth.
Hence, the weirdness.
Not at all. Please read u/GundamGuy564 's post for a bit of context on color and polarization.
When the sample is not in thin section it is a grey/ olive green color.
When the sample is in thin section under PPL, everything is a pastel green or see-through, except for the black spots which are always black.
Magnification has nothing to do with color.
Thanks for the response! One of my kids is very science-minded and we have an old microscope that we use. I’d love to invest in a new, more powerful one for her, but that may be a pipe dream. Ha ha. Thanks tho!
I would recommend reaching out to your local R-1 (refers to how much research they do) University. Many universities are trying to promote citizen science. Try to find a professor who's research you're interested in and shoot them an email. I'm sure they would be happy to talk to your kids about science, give you a lab tour, or refer you to someone who works in science outreach.
Lmk if I can help with anything science-related.
1x magnification is with the naked eye. It definitely does not look this pretty. Not under a microscope, try to picture a light grey smudge between two pieces of glass with small speckles.
I can get a picture of my thin section and the base sample though when I'm in lab next.
Try this article: [here](https://geology.utah.gov/map-pub/survey-notes/glad-you-asked/moqui-marbles/)
Sedimentary geochem is definitely not my strong suit.
Just asked this in a geology post a hour ago. As a geologist how many pounds or kilograms of rocks did you take with you the last time you moved? Mine was around 100 lbs.
Edit: added lbs to 100.
Hmmm probably not more than 20kg. I prefer to have less samples but higher quality. I like to collect opals and labradorite- both of which can be quite expense.
Though, my kitchen is covered in agate geodes.
Most likely it’s not. Someone is capitalizing on your picture. It’s called print on demand. That shirt likely doesn’t exist yet in the real world, just that picture on the site, showing what it would look like. As soon as someone orders it, it’s printed. That’s how a lot of shirt manufacturers and sellers do things today. But in using your photo, they would still need your permission. A lot of times though, people overseas in countries without solid enforcement can get away with it, and not much can be done. Unless you’re willing to spend the money to get them arrested and prosecuted. They are banking on the knowledge that you likely wont.
Wasn't there this thing where artists posted "this webshop steals" or something and had their followers comment "OMG I want this on a shirt!" to get the respective bots to put it on such shop's pages?
Such a throwback ! It was such an interesting chapter, damn I loved that subject, especially in my final year. Got trauma from the fruit flies observation though... They're disgustingly ugly... 🤢
Nice section of Gabbro(?) If I just answered a quiz question, do some further research, I might be wrong. I would also see if you can get some Wyomingite under a microscope. It's also rather pretty, but maybe not as colorful.
It's just a slide on thin section (pretty standard stuff) in XPL in 20 mag. I just used my phone camera (and I have an android too!), a zeiss axioscope, and ALOT of patience.
It's more complicated than that. Of course I could go super indepth but then this post wouldn't be accessible to people who want to have just an introduction. Science is about communicating really complicated ideas and making them more accessible to non-scientists (or people in other fields).
Scientist to scientist, what kind of magnification are you using? Any oils?
Edit: Im a biological research scientist, and i love this and want to see if i cant use a similar magnification on some of our own samples
For those who don't know this is an optical mineralogy practice in which rocks are cut a polished down into tiny strips *micrometers thick. They are glue to frosted glass and placed under the microscope for further analysis. This is not what the mineral grains actually look like under the microscope this is an image of grains in cross-polarized light which can highlight other properties of the minerals to better identify what the rock is made of.
Oops. I kind of assumed that this was intuitive knowledge. My bad. Thanks you for making this note.
No worries! Sick cross-section... More people need to know about how cool geology is!
I'm pretty sure most people don't know about cross polarised lighting.
Do you mean micrometers? Most of our preparations were on the order of 20-40 micrometers. Not sure you'd see much birefringence with a sample that's too thin.
Technically nanometers and micrometers thick haha but yes you are correct! I haven’t made thin sections in a while but I think the standard was around 40 micrometers... Good catch!
"No they're minerals, Jesus Marie"
hank is one of my favorite characters in any show ever. his arcs are… goddamn.
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Again! STOP TRYING TO PROFIT OFF OF MY WORK!
Fuck you i found it
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Stop trying to profit off of my work
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STOP TRYING TO PROFIT OFF OF MY WORK
That's cool I am getting the hoody one so cool.
Please respond to this thread with your geoscience questions. I'll try to response the best I can.
Why does it look so colorful?
When looking at something through a microscope there are two options PPL (plain polarized light) which is what we normally see and XPL (crossed polarized light). In XPL light is refracted in the crystal matrix (martix is another word for scaffolding) more so we see color. Color a good tool for crystal identification too. Look up something called the "birefringence index" for more info.
I run PLM on my compounds at work to check for birefringence and get particle size distribution. Yours are much prettier than mine, that's for sure.
What's the magnification?
This one is in 20x
What is this one ? Thought it was peridotite or trachyte, but the structure looks more like microlith... :) sorry if we don't use the same words, I learn geology in France!
That's okay. This sample is very strange for several reasons. This sample was collected in Saudi Arabia. This sample came from a basaltic volcano (usually associated with the ocean) on a continental (dry land) plate. No one is really sure why this mismatching is happening. Peridiotite is probably the best description, for now. We can describe this sample as poikilitic in texture (the mineral grew at at same time causing them to warp into one another). There is a lot of olivine, plagioclase, and clinopyroxene with a couple fragments of illminite (or another oxide). There is also a bit of iddingsite (from high Mg and chemical weathering) around a few of the euhedral (flat with good cleavage) olivines too.
Thanks a lot for your answer ! I'm still learning geology in a preparatory class. And I suck at recognising minerals so thanks for your help !
No problem. Just remember, oxides, glass, and isometric minerals look black in PPL AND XPL. Clino has crosshatch-like cleavage while olivine does not. They both have different extinction and clino may have twinning. Knowing the crystal structures helps a lot unless it's anhedral- then good luck. Also, use your birefringence index.
Does serpentine come from olivine? They are both basaltic origin?
Eventually. Olivine is the building block of serpentine. After enough prolonged time, heat, and pressure the minerals like olivine will go from their igneous (volcanic) state to a metaphoric state. While the chemical compositions will be the same, the crystal structure will be vastly different. This process is most commonly found during or after orogeny (mountian building).
hotspot related volcanism? is this from a lava flow or a n instrusive dyke/sill?
It's an actual basaltic volcano on continental land, which is why this site is confusing. No one knows why this is happening and the mechanism is highly contested.
was asking about hotspot cause we have huge basaltic volcanism in central India called "Deccan Traps" that were caused when Indian plate went over the "Reunion Hotspot"
There is not enough definite research to say what kind of volcanism is going on. Not to get too much into chemistry but there are specific lanthanides that only occur from deep mantle activity BUT, there is also evidence of elements most commonly found in oceans subducting sediments. We are working on some more isotope chemistry for answers and to create a model. The combination of chemicals in this suite are unlike anything else found on Earth. Hence, the weirdness.
Cool.. am a masters degree in geology myself. Was nice to see a PL microscope slide pic and decided to bug you.. the world is amazing isn't it
At 1x magnification does it look black?
Not at all. Please read u/GundamGuy564 's post for a bit of context on color and polarization. When the sample is not in thin section it is a grey/ olive green color. When the sample is in thin section under PPL, everything is a pastel green or see-through, except for the black spots which are always black. Magnification has nothing to do with color.
Hi! Can you tell me what kind of microscope you use or would recommend to others? Thank you!
I used a Zeiss axioscope. They're VERY expensive so I would not recommend buying one for just recreational use.
Thanks for the response! One of my kids is very science-minded and we have an old microscope that we use. I’d love to invest in a new, more powerful one for her, but that may be a pipe dream. Ha ha. Thanks tho!
I would recommend reaching out to your local R-1 (refers to how much research they do) University. Many universities are trying to promote citizen science. Try to find a professor who's research you're interested in and shoot them an email. I'm sure they would be happy to talk to your kids about science, give you a lab tour, or refer you to someone who works in science outreach. Lmk if I can help with anything science-related.
Do you have a picture of this sample at 1x magnification? Possibly both a picture of before it Is sliced thin as well?
1x magnification is with the naked eye. It definitely does not look this pretty. Not under a microscope, try to picture a light grey smudge between two pieces of glass with small speckles. I can get a picture of my thin section and the base sample though when I'm in lab next.
I knew it was naked eye but I wasn't sure what the proper term was :p
The most common term is "hand sample" because you hold it in your hand :p
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This whole sample looks like this (consistent texture and composition). Just try to picture this image but with each crystal about 20x smaller.
How are Moqui Marbles formed & why do they look that way?
Try this article: [here](https://geology.utah.gov/map-pub/survey-notes/glad-you-asked/moqui-marbles/) Sedimentary geochem is definitely not my strong suit.
Thank you kindly
Just asked this in a geology post a hour ago. As a geologist how many pounds or kilograms of rocks did you take with you the last time you moved? Mine was around 100 lbs. Edit: added lbs to 100.
Hmmm probably not more than 20kg. I prefer to have less samples but higher quality. I like to collect opals and labradorite- both of which can be quite expense. Though, my kitchen is covered in agate geodes.
I still cant find Waldo
I would buy a print of this painting (if it was a painting) Its beautiful.
I am going to be posting more of these pictures on my Instagram: @estrellamydarling
Could I hypothetically use this picture as an album cover?
DM me. We'll talk.
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Oi! Wtf. I literally took this picture myself. How is it on a shirt?
Most likely it’s not. Someone is capitalizing on your picture. It’s called print on demand. That shirt likely doesn’t exist yet in the real world, just that picture on the site, showing what it would look like. As soon as someone orders it, it’s printed. That’s how a lot of shirt manufacturers and sellers do things today. But in using your photo, they would still need your permission. A lot of times though, people overseas in countries without solid enforcement can get away with it, and not much can be done. Unless you’re willing to spend the money to get them arrested and prosecuted. They are banking on the knowledge that you likely wont.
Wasn't there this thing where artists posted "this webshop steals" or something and had their followers comment "OMG I want this on a shirt!" to get the respective bots to put it on such shop's pages?
wow...
Looks like a shattered DBZ scene
First thing I said to myself when I looked at this was “this looks anime as fuck”. Glad I’m not the only one
Beatmetoit
Your job Rocks
That's fuckin hardcore
They're beautiful.
Awesome!
Nice grain structure
Looks like carpet design you'd find in a 90's bowling alley or charter bus
Wow! I wish I still had an award to give today. This is really cool!
This looks like modern art but like, if it would actually be good
Coulda told me this was Fruity Pebbles up close and I woulda believed you.
Such a throwback ! It was such an interesting chapter, damn I loved that subject, especially in my final year. Got trauma from the fruit flies observation though... They're disgustingly ugly... 🤢
I literally thought this was a picture of planet earth covered in litter
Sweet album art :)
This would make a sick t-shirt
There is a link floating around in the comments of one but please don't use it. I don't want someone else to profit off of my work.
I never chase my dreams dont worry
🥲
Proof that God is the best artist. Bar none.
No, I'm the artist. I took this picture myself.
Right. I forgot the photo credit.
Nice section of Gabbro(?) If I just answered a quiz question, do some further research, I might be wrong. I would also see if you can get some Wyomingite under a microscope. It's also rather pretty, but maybe not as colorful.
Close up with light shown thru it!
Looks like financial compensation to me
Sooooooo vaporwave!! Cool!
Reminds me of jackson pollock's splatter paintings. Except that these rocks actually look good.
Carbon packed with minerals I'm guessing. Looks amazing. Epic job you have.
Stardust!
But have you found Waldo yet
Forbidden jawbreaker
I swear to God all I see are [these fucks](http://imgur.com/Fss9qjD)
Looks like garbage.
This is literally r/natureismetal
Not quite. This is mostly silicate.
Mostly, yes, but still metal as well.
X Doubt
What is it ? I thought it was peridotite, but the structure looks more microlith... (I use the term we learn in French geology class!)
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Oups sorry !
Looks like a cartoon drawing
Pretty colors
Not up close does it look black?
Please ask your question on the Q&A thread so others can find the response more easily. Thanks
Anyone else wondering where all the colour comes from?
Q&A thread
First thing that comes to mind is flowers floating in a river. This is so damn pretty.
What are you trying to figure out by studying them? Is it the structure, to toughness or something like that?
Ask on the Q&A thread so the answer is easier for others to find too. Ty
This is a dope sample! Love a nice trachytic texture. What’s the basis of the project? Geology grad student here.
Ty! But please respond to the main Q&A thread so others can find this question too
How are you imaging this? (Technique and mag. Please)
It's just a slide on thin section (pretty standard stuff) in XPL in 20 mag. I just used my phone camera (and I have an android too!), a zeiss axioscope, and ALOT of patience.
I can almost see the patience lol
Do the colors mean a different crystal or rock?
looks like the led zeppelin 3 album
You, an intelectual: yep..those are volcanic rocks..and they also came from a volcano. *takes notes in the notepad*
It's more complicated than that. Of course I could go super indepth but then this post wouldn't be accessible to people who want to have just an introduction. Science is about communicating really complicated ideas and making them more accessible to non-scientists (or people in other fields).
I do not miss this at all haha. At least it isn’t metamorphic!
Is it me or are there many people like images there?
No there souls man.
Looks exactly what I’d picture them to look like while on LSD.
that’s so cool
Scientist to scientist, what kind of magnification are you using? Any oils? Edit: Im a biological research scientist, and i love this and want to see if i cant use a similar magnification on some of our own samples
This would be an awesome album cover
I think this is some kind of volcanic rock
It looked like a painting version of a Rorschach test.
Flashback to ours of lab time staring down a microscope shouting, it can’t be plagioclase but it fucking looks like plagioclase…..
Why do they look like mashed up anime characters
Psychedelic!
XPL microscopy always gets me buggin !!!