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Photographic gallery.  Thousands of particles under the microscope.
Density Gradient Separation, Long Canyon Sand

Sand, Long Canyon, Arizona

These are "Heavy" minerals from the sand in the dry streambed in Long Canyon. It separated in the greater than 2.8 gram/cc fraction of the density column.

Transmitted Oblique Off Crossed Circular Polarized Light with Reflected Darkfield Illumination

Definition/Function:

These minerals included hematite, magnetite, rutile, tourmaline, volcanic glass, and zircon, and others.

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.)