Sodium Nitrate Aerosol
Transmitted linear Polarized Light with Oblique Illumination
The orientation of the single linear polarizing filter is east-west in this image. Sodium nitrate is tetragonal and
forms in the classical "calcite" rhombs. Its birefringence is extremely high at over 0.22 and it has symmetric
extiction. The omega refractive index is about 1.58 and the epsilon refractive index is about 1.335. In this image
only the epsilon refractive index is evident and the bright edge on the right indicates the much lower refractive index.
The mounting medium in this case is the tape adhesive at about 1.49. Notice that most of the particles in the background
are shaded on the right and brighter on the left side. Few natural particles have refrective indices below 1.49.
The orientation of the single linear polarizing filter is east-west in this image. Sodium nitrate is tetragonal and
forms in the classical "calcite" rhombs. Its birefringence is extremely high at over 0.22 and it has symmetric
extiction. The omega refractive index is about 1.58 and the epsilon refractive index is about 1.335. In this image
only the epsilon refractive index is evident and the bright edge on the right indicates the much lower refractive index.
The mounting medium in this case is the tape adhesive at about 1.49. Notice that most of the particles in the background
are shaded on the right and brighter on the left side. Few natural particles have refrective indices below 1.49.
