[Rockhounds] HALITE

[Axel Emmermann]

Hi Don,

I noticed that bubble-wrap is transparent to SW too. Most of it, at least.
The minerals that are wrapped in it fluoresce, even when there's 2 or 3
layers of BW around them.
Cheers
Axel

> -----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
> Van: rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com
[mailto:rockhounds-bounces at lists.drizzle.com]
> Namens DonH
> Verzonden: donderdag 25 december 2008 0:30
> Aan: Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors
> Onderwerp: Re: [Rockhounds] HALITE
> 
> Axel Emmermann wrote:
> 
> > Clearcoat: is that some kind of wax?
> 
> 
> That's a generic term for a clear paint or coating here in the states;
> usually acrylic or some related plastic resin.
> 
> Keep in mind that coating specimens only delays the inevitable.  I once
> looked over some specimens for the museum, and among the collection was
> a box labeled as halite or some other evaporite alkali halide, and
> inside the box was a wet, white sludge--along with a skin of some sort
> of clear coating in the vague shape of a crystal cluster.  It looked
> like a snake had shed its skin.  In the end, nature will always win,
> unless you keep the specimen in an isolated equilibrated microenvironment.
> 
> I wonder about UV transparency regarding various coatings.  Many
> plastics block SW, though I have found that very thin plastics, such as
> Saran wrap (a thin plastic sheet for wrapping your food), will allow SW
> to pass.  Many plastics will also fluoresce in LW.
> 
> I coated some Franklin material with a very thin layer or Norland
> Optical Adhesive, and it did not affect the SW fluorescence.  Of course,
> those specimens are very responsive and I would not have noticed a
> slight diminution in intensity.
> 
> 
> Best,
> Don
> 
> 
> --
> _______________________________________________
> Rockhounds at drizzle Mailing List
> Subscription Services:
> http://lists.drizzle.com/mailman/listinfo/rockhounds
> List Home Page, with a link to the List Usage Policy:
> http://www.eclecticlapidary.com/Rockhounds/index.html