Gallery 4 - Fluorescent Minerals in Stereo...
The amazing art of stereo photography of fluorescent minerals.
All photographs © Axel Emmermann

Click picture for close up view (in pop-up window)

ADAMITE, Ojuela mine, Durango, Mexico Small columnar crystals of Adamite form aggregates on the rust-colored matrix. This specimen fluoresces under both long wave and short wave UV but much brighter under the latter. The presence of the Uranyl-ion causes the green fluorescence.

ARAGONITE and SULFUR, Aggrigento, Sicily, Italy The specimen consists of a twinned prismatic Aragonite crystal on an Aragonite matrix. Slightly left and above the Aragonite crystal is a perfect and transparent sulfur crystal. The specimen shows a strong snow-white fluorescence under short wave UV. Remarkably, the matrix fluoresces much brighter than the crystal. The greenish color of the sulfur crystal is caused by it's own color (the white light from the matrix shining through) plus some blue light leaking through the UV-transparent filters. The cause of the fluorescence has not been investigated. It is however known that rare earths may cause a bright white fluorescence in Calcite and Aragonite.

ARAGONITE, Yangshu, Guangxi province, China This magnificent specimen consists of fanning aggregates of acicular Aragonite on an undetermined rocky matrix. The image width is 80 mm. Under long wave UV, only the Aragonite needles fluoresce bright cream to white. Under short wave however the fluorescence of the Aragonite becomes even brighter while the matrix displays a magnificent magenta fluorescence.

BERYL (var: Goshenite), Pingwu, Sichuan, China Some water clear crystals of this Beryl variety of on an Albite matrix. The crystals are very light greenish blue to almost colorless in daylight. Under short wave UV however they fluoresce with an eerie light blue color. The fluorescence activator is unknown.

HALITE, Heringen, Werra, Hessen, Germany This specimen is about 30 cm high (+/- 12 inches). The medium strong red fluorescence under short wave UV is probably caused by the presence of manganese and lead. However, defects in the crystal lattice may also cause a red fluorescence.

POLYLITHIONITE on ALBITE, Mount St. Hillaire, Quebec, Canada The specimen consists of twirly leafs of Polylithionite on an Albite matrix. Both minerals fluoresce medium strong under short wave UV in two very contrasting colors. Polylithionite fluoresces yellow with a greenish tinge while Albite displays a magnificent rich magenta to purple fluorescence. The fluorescence activator of neither of these minerals has been found, to my knowledge.

SCHEELITE, Pingwu, Sichuan, China This specimen is 45 mm high and consists of transparent honey-colored crystals on matrix. Under long wave UV it fluoresces a very weak yellow-brown color but under the short wave lamp it turns into a bright and clear light blue. The crystals remain transparent while fluorescing, which gives them an eerie illusion of "depth". Unfortunately this doesn't record well on film. The fluorescence of Scheelite is intrinsic. This means that it is not caused by impurities or activators that are strange to the chemical composition of the mineral. It's the tungstate-ion itself that fluoresces. In the absence of "quenchers" like iron or copper, scheelite will indeed always fluoresce. The pure blue color is also an indication that this specimen contains as good as no molybdenum. The presence of the molybdate-ion causes the fluorescence of scheelite to shift from blue to yellow, even in a concentration as low as 0.1%

GYPSUM, Le Forest, France The fluorescence is probably caused by crystal defects due to the partial replacement of Ca by Sr in a 200:1 ratio. The fluorescent hourglass is most likely the result of strontium atoms having a greater affinity for two opposing faces during crystal growth. The crystal defects are thus stacked in a pyramidal form following the growth of those two faces. Photo under short wave UV