very nice inclusion shots, ron!! those are excellent!! love the ocean jasper orb photographs, very nice!! ocean jasper is one of my faves!! and the blue fluorite crystal shots are nice, too!!
The "flower" type of patterns are created when a spherical inclusion becomes the crystallization center for concentric crystal growth. The sphere grows to a certain point, and then becomes the nucleus for group of crystals.
Here is a sample of ocean jasper with the "flowers". Looking through the clear calcedony around the inclusions, you can just make out their spherical shape.
Here is a reflected light close-up of a portion of the pattern. The next photo (after this one) shows a thin-section cut through this area, but is reversed on the microscope slide.
Here is the thin section image. The center area looks similar to the round structures in the previous yellow-orange samples. It is apparently made up of small spheres or "blobs" of iron hydroxides. Crystals then begin to grow outward away from this spherical center. They look kind of like feathers in the thin section. There are several layers of these crystals around each center.
In this particular sample the large crystals apparently ran out of material to grow, and then terminated. After some time a new solution filled in the void space between these end crystals and formed a small agate structure.
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 11:24 am Posts: 7523 Location: Rome, Italy
Hi Ron,
VERY NICE shots, congrats!!!
the Fluorite inclusions could be mistaken with Anatase at a first glance.
Did you completed the darkfield setup?
ciao
alberto
thank you very much for you explanation with corresponding photographs for the orbs and flowers seen in some madagascan ocean jasper, ron!! ocean jasper fascinates me with its different patterns and colors!! jan
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