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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: 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: 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. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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