MINERAL SCIENCES RESEARCH FACILITIES

The Department of Mineral Sciences employs both traditional and modern state-of-the-art mineralogical research equipment:

Leitz Ortholux I polarizing microscopes (right) are used to studying the optical properties of minerals. The Huber two-circle reflected-light goniometer (left) is used to study crystal morphology.

A new state-of-the-art Rigaku R-Axis Spider X-ray diffraction system is used for both powder and single-crystal studies. This equipment is used for both mineral identification and atomic structure determination. The R-Axis Spider system was funded through the department's John Jago Trelawney Endowment.

The Department of Mineral Sciences is one of several users of the museum's Hitachi S-3000N scanning electron microscope. The SEM is equipped with an Oxford INCA X-Sight energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), which allows studies of mineral chemistry.