Danube River Sand at Regensburg
The most colorful grains with polarized light in
this image are quartz. The dark grains are garnet.
Some of the other grains are limestone, small crystal aggragates of calcite.
Transmitted Off Crossed Circular Polarized Light
Definition/Function:
Significance in the Environment:
Characteristic Features:
Associated Particles:
References:
Greenberg, Gary, A GRAIN OF SAND: NATURE'S SECRET WONDER, Voyageur Press, 2008.
Welland, Michael, SAND: THE NEVER ENDING STORY, University of California Press, 2009.
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artjun01/clsand.html
(Good Information on the microscopy of sand, Great site for more information on
microscopy in general)
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=a-grain-of-sand-natures-secret-wonder
(Good Information on Sand with links to more information on sand)
http://www.sciencelive.org/component/option,com_mediadb/task,play/idstr,Open-feeds_fsc_exploring_sedimentary_processes_fsc02_02_m4v/vv,-2/Itemid,97
(Brief, very informative video on what can be learned from the shape of a sand
grain.)