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TOURMALINE

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Originally appearing in Volume V27, Page 104 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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TOURMALINE , a See also:

mineral of much See also:interest to the physicist on See also:account of its See also:optical and See also:electrical properties; it is also of some See also:geological importance as a See also:rock-constituent (see See also:SCHORL), whilst certain transparent varieties have economic value as See also:gem-stones. The name is probably a . corruption of turmali, or toramalli, the native name applied to tourmaline and See also:zircon in See also:Ceylon, whence specimens of the former mineral were brought to See also:Europe by the Dutch in 1703. The See also:green tourmaline of See also:Brazil had, however, been known here much earlier; and coarse varieties of the mineral had passed for centuries under the See also:German name of Schorl, an old See also:mining word of uncertain origin, possibly connected with the old German Schor (refuse), in allusion to the occurrence of the mineral with the See also:waste of the See also:tin-mines. The German See also:village of Schorlau may have taken its name from the mineral. It has been suggested that the See also:Swedish See also:form skorl has possible connexion with the word skor, brittle. Tourmaline crystallizes in the See also:rhombohedral See also:division of the hexagonal See also:system. The crystals have generally a prismatic See also:habit, the prisms being longitudinally striated or even channelled. Trigonal prisms are characteristic, so that a transverse See also:section becomes triangular or often nine-sided. By See also:combination of several prisms the crystals may become sub-cylindrical. The crystals when doubly terminated are often See also:hemimorphic or See also:present dissimilar forms at the opposite ends; thus the hexagonal prisms in fig. I are terminated at one end by rhombohedral faces, o, P, and at the other by the basal See also:plane k'. Doubly-terminated crystals, however, are comparatively rare ; the crystals being usually attached at one end to the See also:matrix.

It is notable that prismatic crystals of tourmaline have in some cases been curved and fractured transversely; the displaced FIG. I. fragments having been cemented together by deposition of fresh mineral See also:

matter. Tourmaline is not infrequently columnar, acicular or fibrous; and the See also:fibres may radiate from a centre so as to form the so-called " tourmaline suns." Crystals of tourmaline present no distinct cleavage, but break with a sub-conchoidal fracture; and whilst the See also:general lustre of the mineral is vitreous, that of the fractured See also:surface is rather pitchy. The hardness is slightly above that of See also:quartz (7). The specific gravity varies according to chemical See also:composition, that of the colourless varieties being about 3, whilst in schorl it may rise to 3.2. Tourmaline has a See also:great range of See also:colour, and in many cases the crystals are curiously parti-coloured. Occasionally, though rarely, the mineral is colourless, and is then known as achroite, a name proposed by R. See also:Hermann in 1845, and derived from the See also:Greek axpoos (uncoloured). Red tourmaline, which when of See also:fine colour is the most valued of all varieties, is known as See also:rubellite (q.v.). Green tourmaline is by no means uncommon, but the See also:blue is rather rare and is distinguished by the name indigolite, generally written indicolite. See also:Brown is a See also:common colour, and See also:black still more common, this being the usual colour of schorl, or common coarse tourmaline. Thin splinters of schorl may, however, be blue or brown by transmitted See also:light.

The See also:

double See also:refraction of tourmaline is strong. The mineral is optically negative, the See also:ordinary See also:index being about 1.64, and the extraordinary 1.62. Coloured tourmalines are intensely pleochroic, the ordinary See also:ray, which vibrates perpendicular to the See also:principal See also:axis, being much more strongly absorbed than the extraordinary; hence a slice cut in the direction of the principal or optic axis transmits sensibly only the extraordinary ray, and may consequently be used as a polarizing See also:medium. The brown tourmaline of Ceylon and Brazil is best adapted for this purpose, but the green is also used. Two plates properly mounted form the See also:instrument used by opticians for testing spectacle-lenses, and are known as the " tourmaline See also:tongs." In See also:order to secure the best colour-effect when used as a gem-See also:stone, the tourmaline should be cut with the table parallel to the optic axis. It was in tourmaline that the phenomenon of pyroelectricity was first observed. On being heated in See also:peat ashes its attractive See also:power was observed by the Dutch, in the See also:early See also:part of the 18th See also:century; and this curious See also:character obtained for it the name of aschtrekker, or ash-drawer. J. R. See also:Hauy first pointed out the relation of pyroelectricity with hemimorphism. Tourmaline is also piezoelectric, that is, it becomes electric by pressure. If a crystal be subjected to pressure along the optic axis, it behaves as though it were contracting by reduction of temperature.

The mineral may also be rendered electric by See also:

friction, and retains the See also:charge for a See also:long See also:time. Tourmaline is a boro-silicate of singularly complex composition. Indeed the word tourmaline is sometimes regarded as the name of a See also:group of isomorphous minerals rather than that of a definite See also:species. Numerous analyses have been made, and the results discussed by a large number of authorities. In the view of S. L. Penfield and H. W. See also:Foote all tourmaline may be derived from a boro-silicic See also:acid of the See also:formula H2nB25i4O21. It is believed that the See also:hydrogen is present as hydroxyl, and that this may be partially replaced by See also:fluorine. The tourmaline acid has probably the constitution H1s(B•OH)2Si4O19. Nine atoms of hydrogen are replaced by three of See also:aluminium, and the remaining nine in part by other metals.

See also:

Lithium is present in red tourmaline; See also:magnesium dominates in brown; See also:iron, See also:manganese and sometimes See also:chromium are found in green; and much iron occurs in the black varieties. Four See also:groups are sometimes recognized, characterized by the presence of (r) lithium, (2) ferrous iron, (3) ferric iron and (4) magnesium. Tourmaline occurs commonly in See also:granite, See also:greisen, See also:gneiss and crystalline See also:schists. In many cases it appears to have been formed by See also:pneumatolysis, or the See also:action on the rocks of heated vapours containing See also:boron and fluorine, as in many tin-bearing districts, where tourmaline is a characteristic mineral. Near the margin of a See also:mass of granite the rock often becomes schorlaceous or tourmaliniferous, and may pass into " tourmaline-rock," which is usually an aggregate of tourmaline and quartz. Tourmaline is an essential constituent of the See also:west of See also:England rocks called luxullianite (luxulyanite) and trowlesworthite. It occurs embedded in certain metamorphic limestones, where it is possibly due to fumarolic action. Microscopic crystals are common in See also:clay-See also:slate. By resistance to decomposition, tourmaline often survives the disintegration of the matrix, and thus passes into sands, See also:clays, marls and other sedimentary deposits. Many of the finest crystals of tourmaline occur in See also:druses in granitic rocks, such as those of See also:San See also:Piero in See also:Elba, where some of the See also:pale See also:pink and green prisms are tipped with black, and have consequently been called " nigger-heads." See also:Lepidolite is a common See also:associate of tourmaline, as at Rozena in See also:Moravia. Tourmaline occurs, with See also:corundum, in the See also:dolomite of Campolongo, in See also:canton See also:Ticino, See also:Switzerland. Fine black crystals, associated with See also:apatite and quartz, were formerly found in granite at Chudleigh, near Bovey Tracey in See also:Devonshire.

The See also:

Russian localities for tourmaline are mentioned under RUBELLITE. Most of the tourmaline cut for See also:jewelry comes from the gem-gravels of Ceylon. The green tourmaline has generally a yellowish or See also:olive-green colour, and is known as " Ceylon See also:chrysolite." Fine green crystals are found in Brazil, notably in the See also:topaz-locality of See also:Minas Novas; and when of vivid colour they have been called " Brazilian emeralds." Green tourmaline is a favourite ecclesiastical stone in See also:South See also:America Blue tourmaline occurs with the green; this variety is found also at Uto in See also:Sweden (its See also:original locality) and notably near See also:Hazaribagh in See also:Bengal. Certain kinds of See also:mica occasionally contain See also:flat crystals of tourmaline between the cleavage-planes. Many localities in the See also:United States are famous for tourmaline. Magnificent specimens have been obtained from Mt Mica, near See also:Paris, See also:Maine, where the mineral was accidentally discovered in 182o by two students, E. L. See also:Hamlin and E. See also:Holmes. It occurs in granite, with lepidolite, smoky quartz, See also:spodumene, &c.; and some of the prismatic crystals are notable for being red at one end and green at the other. Mt Rubellite at See also:Hebron, and Mt Apatite at See also:Auburn, are other localities in Maine which have yielded fine tourmaline. At.

See also:

Chesterfield, See also:Massachusetts, remarkable crystals occur, some of which show on transverse section a triangular See also:nucleus ofred tourmaline surrounded by a See also:shell of green. Red and green tourmalines, with lepidolite and See also:kunzite, are found in San Diego See also:county, See also:California. Fine coloured tourmalines occur at Haddam See also:Neck, See also:Connecticut; and excellent crystals of black tourmaline are well known from See also:Pierrepont, New See also:York, whilst remarkable brown crystals occur in See also:limestone at Gouverneur in the same See also:state. See also:Canada is See also:rich in tourmaline, notably at See also:Burgess in See also:Lanark county, See also:Ontario, and at See also:Grand See also:Calumet See also:Island in the See also:Ottawa See also:river. . Heemskirk See also:Mountain, See also:Tasmania, and See also:Kangaroo Island, South See also:Australia, have yielded fine coloured tourmaline See also:fit for jewelry. See also:Madagascar is a well-known locality for black tourmaline in large crystals. Many varieties of tourmaline have received distinctive names, some of which are noticed above. Dravite is G. Tschermak's name for a brown tourmaline, rich in See also:magnesia but with little iron, occur-See also:ring near Unter Drauburg in the See also:Drave See also:district in See also:Carinthia. Taltalite was a name given by I. Domeyko to a mixture of tourmaline and See also:copper ore from Taltal in See also:Chile. The colourless Elba tourmaline was called apyrite by J.

F. L. See also:

Hausmann, in allusion to its refractory behaviour before the See also:blow-See also:pipe; whilst a black iron-tourmaline from See also:Norway was termed aphrazite by J. B. d'See also:Andrada, in consequence of its intumescence when heated. (F. W. R.

End of Article: TOURMALINE

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