Optical Calcite , light Lavender color, Rhomboid form 70-80 mm

SKU: 12476

Highly unusual rhomboid classic form with light lavender cast to each crystal. Calcite, which gets its name from "chalix" the Greek word for lime, is a most amazing and yet, most common mineral. It is one of the most common minerals on the face of the Earth, comprising about 4% by weight of the Earth's crust and is formed in many different geological environments. Calcite can form rocks of considerable mass and constitutes a significant part of all three major rock classification types. It forms oolitic, fossiliferous and massive limestones in sedimentary environments and even serves as the cements for many sandstones and shales. Limestone becomes marble from the heat and pressure of metamorphic events. Calcite is even a major component in the igneous rock called carbonatite and forms the major portion of many hydrothermal veins. Some of these rock types are composed of better than 99% calcite. Why would a collector be interested in such a common mineral? Its extraordinary diversity and beauty! With calcite so abundant and so widely distributed it is no wonder that it can be so varied. The crystals of calcite can form literally a thousand different shapes by combining the basic forms of the positive rhombohedron, negative rhombohedron, steeply, moderately and slightly inclined rhombohedrons, various scalahedrons, prism and pinacoid to name a few of the more common forms. There are more than 300 crystal forms identified in calcite and these forms can combine to produce the thousand different crystal variations. Calcite also produces many twin varieties that are favorites among twin collectors. There are also phantoms, included crystals, color varieties, pseudomorphs and unique associations. There simply is no end to the varieties of calcite. There are several varieties of calcite and it would be impossible to describe them all. However there are a few standouts. Possibly the most well known of calcite's varieties is its most common form, the classic scalenohedron or "Dogtooth Spar" as it is sometimes called. This variety appears as a double pyramid or dipyramid, but is actually a distinctly different form. The point of the scalenohedron is sharp and resembles the canine tooth of a dog, hence the name. Beautiful clear colorless or amber-orange examples of this variety are considered classics and outstanding examples come from Pugh Quarry, Ohio; Cornwall, England and Elmwood, Tennessee but the variety is found worldwide. Not necessarily a variety of calcite, cave formations are certainly a unique aspect of calcite's story. Calcite is the primary mineral component in cave formations. Stalactites and stalagmites, cave veils, cave pearls, "soda straws" and the many other different cave formations that millions of visitors to underground caverns enjoy are made of calcite. It is the fact that calcite is readily dissolved that these formations occur. Overlying limestones or marbles are dissolved away by years and years of slightly acidic ground water to percolate into the caverns below. In fact the caverns themselves may have been the result of water dissolving away the calcite rich rock. As the calcite enriched water enters a relatively dry cavern, the water starts to evaporate and thus precipitate the calcite. The resulting accumulations of calcite are generally extremely pure and are colored if at all, by very small amounts of iron or other impurities. Another variety is the so called "Iceland Spar", which is basically clear cleaved fragments of completely colorless (ice-like) calcite. Originally discovered and named after Eskifjord, Iceland where the calcite is found in basalt cavities. In rock shops around the world, iceland spar is available in large quantities and at affordable prices and are popular among children. Most of today's iceland spar comes from Mexico. The iceland spar displays the classic cleavage form of calcite, the rhombohedron. Iceland spar was and is used for optical equipment and during World War II it was a strategic mineral as it was used for the sighting equipment of bombardiers and gunners. It is iceland spar that best demonstrates the unique property of calcite called double refraction. Double refraction occurs when a ray of light enters the crystal and due to calcite's unique optical properties, the ray is split into fast and slow beams. As these two beams exit the crystal they are bent into two different angles (known as angles of refraction) because the angle is affected by the speed of the beams. A person viewing into the crystal will see two images ... of everything. The best way to view the double refraction is by placing the crystal on a straight line or printed word (the result will be two lines or two words). There is only one direction that the beams are both the same speed and that is parallel to the C-axis or primary trigonal axis. Rotation of the crystal will reveal the direction in the crystal that is parallel to the C-axis when the line or word becomes whole again. By contrast, the direction perpendicular to the C-axis will have the greatest separation. The extremely high index of refraction of calcite that causes the easily seen double refraction is also responsible for the interference colors (pastel rainbow colors) that are seen in calcites that have small fractures.

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