The age of using refractometers,
Chelsea filters, UV lights, specific gravity, color, hardness, streak and other
simple methods for mineral identification is unreliable, error-prone, 1800’s
technology. This text replaces all that obsolete
methodology with a modern method of analysis using infrared spectroscopy.
This text covers commonly sold
rocks and minerals in crystal and massive form that are used in jewelry,
carving and shaped utensils, and as ornamental stone. It is not restricted to semi-precious faceted
gemstones.
Instead of throwing at the reader a
set of infrared graphs of different minerals, the infrared discussion has several
parts. First, the behavior of infrared
is described presenting the author’s findings through six years of research,
yielding a new model of infrared behavior in studying materials such as
minerals. Second, the graphs are
interpreted with this model to explain what the key peaks and troughs
mean. This superior understanding and
new model of infrared allows for better identification. Third, groups of minerals are differentiated
with overlays of their graphs and explanation of their differences. Fourth, groups of minerals are identified
with key tables and discussion of how to identify particular species in a
group. The goal is not only to show you
how to identify your specimen compared to an unknown, but also many fakes and
confusing related minerals are shown.
You should come away with an
understanding that infrared is not unreliable or noisy, but rather, inferior
understanding of how infrared behaves has left others confused. Infrared shows a complex system of
crystallography particularly refractive index features that yields a whole new
world of understanding not previously possible.
This book is innovative and provocative, using years of work and over
30,000 mineral graphs looking for patterns and trends. Nothing occurs in infrared spectroscopy by
accident, it is just a matter of how much time and how many specimens we need
to discern exactly what is going on.
Those producing research reports on, say four specimens, are three orders of magnitude short of the level of effort
it takes to study mineralogical reflectance infrared. This text does not repeat the research of
others, it compiles the research of the author, using and building upon and
greatly improving upon the work that came before. Little that you see here is found in current
literature. Large sections of this work
are in no scientific literature of our time.
Yet, the work has been reviewed by some leading infrared scientists of
our time from around the world as the author compared notes, shared specimens
and data. Their help is greatly
appreciated.
This is not a research book to cite
all the literature that has come before.
It is a hands-on book to show you what the answers turned out to be, and
to show a comprehensive model of infrared for you to identify minerals on-hand.