[Rockhounds] fossils

[Axel Emmermann]

> 
> Earl,
> 
> The problem is that none of the (common) databases or field guides I
> know of include fluorescence information (except in a few rare cases).

[Axel] That is hopefully going to change!
 
> I appreciate experience. The more specimens you have seen of a mineral,
> the more likely you will be able to identify a new specimen. I can
> recognize a few glowing colors and can connect them to specific
> activators.

[Axel] that is sooooooooooooooo tricky! Yes, you have the "usual suspects"
but activators are a world apart....
 
> The experts with a lifetime of experience need to to do more sharing.
> It is not yet trickling down to amateurs like me.

[Axel] Watch my site... I'll try to check the data for maximum reliability.
There's more than a few guys  out there that are likely to correct me if I
make a mistake...

> If fluorescence is that useful, why isn't it in all the field guides?

[Axel] 
Cheers
> 
> 
> 
> On Wednesday, Apr 29, 2009, at 21:49 America/Detroit, Earl R. Verbeek
> wrote:
> 
> >
> > Subject: Re: [Rockhounds] fossils
> >
> > Except for very rare cases, knowing that a specimen fluoresces does not
> > help me identify what minerals are in the specimen.
> >
> > Kreigh
> >
> > But it helps some of us a great deal.  It's like a number of other
> > attributes of minerals, such as color in daylight -- for some minerals
> > the
> > color is a great aid to identification and for some it's not, but with
> > years
> > and years of experience it can be used to increasingly great
> > advantage.  Try
> > NOT using fluorescence on Franklin minerals and see how far you get at
> > identifying things.  A white fibrous mineral from there could be
> > xonotlite
> > or chlorophoenicite or wollastonite or several other things, and the
> > first
> > thing that many of us do to figure it out is reach for that UV lamp.
> > Other
> > localities are like that too.  Even if you don't know where a specimen
> > came
> > from, a comprehensive knowledge of mineral fluorescence is often a
> > powerful
> > aid to identification.  If you see a pale green mineral from a
> > pegmatite and
> > it fluoresces yellow SW, you'd better guess fluorapatite rather than
> > beryl.
> >
> > Hmmm, maybe I should design a course around this topic -- it would be
> > an
> > enjoyable one to teach, and useful for those intending to become field
> > geologists.  Gotta think about that some more....
> >
> >          Cheers!    Earl
> >
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