Optically Anomalous Crystals [Hardcover]

This book begins with an historical introduction covering the contributions of many distinguished crystallographers. From this follows a tutorial in crystal optics. Further chapters discuss the two main mechanisms of optical dissymmetry, the piezo-optic effect and the kinetic ordering of atoms. The book treats the literature comprehensively, but uses illustrations from the authors laboratories as the subjects of detailed analyses.

Optically Anomalous Crystals begins with an historical introduction covering the contributions of Brewster, Biot, Mallard, Brauns, Tamman, and many other distinguished crystallographers. From this follows a tutorial in crystal optics. Further chapters discuss the two main mechanisms of optical dissymmetry: 1. the piezo-optic effect, and 2. the kinetic ordering of atoms. The text then tackles complex, inhomogeneous crystals, and the complex optical properties resulting from the superposition of anomalies having various etiologies. The book treats the literature comprehensively, but uses illustrations from the authors laboratories as the subjects of detailed analyses.

This is an invaluable text for crystallographers, mineralogists, and petrologists interested in the growth of minerals and synthetic crystals, and their optical properties. It is also ideally suited to students of optical mineralogy, professional scientists and engineers as well as historians of science.

1. Crystal Optics 1.1. Introduction to Crystal Optics in Transmitted Light 1.1.1. Light in Isotropic Media 1.1.2. Light in Anisotropic Medium: Linear Birefringence 1.1.3. Symmetry of the Optical Indicatrix 1.1.4. Other Linear Optical Phenomena 1.1.5. Composition, Structure, and Optics 1.2. Characterizing the Optical Indicatrix 1.3. Definition of Optical Anomalies in Terms of the Indicatrix 1.4. Anomalies of Obvious Etiology 1.4.1. Gross Compositional Inhomogeneity 1.4.2. Macroscopic Deformations of Crystals 1.5. Abundance ls?