Note that this schedule may be altered during the quarter. Note also that there will likely be only a rough separation between lecture and laboratory material, and the amount of class time spent on lab (versus lecture) will vary over the course of the quarter (probably less lab time early in the quarter, more later on).
| Date | # | Lecture Topic | Lab Topic | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, Jan 8 | 1 | Introduction, Organizational Items; Light: Particles, Waves, Rays | Intro to Microscope | pp. 3-7, 16-24 |
| Thu, Jan 10 | 2 | Reflection & Refraction, Lenses, Polarization | pp. 7-15 | |
| Tue, Jan 15 | 3 | Refractometry: Relief, Becke Line, Optical Indicatrix | Isotropics in thin section, Describing minerals in thin section | Ch. 3-4 |
| Thu, Jan 17 | 4 | Light and anisotropic minerals (double refraction, pleochroism, retardation) | pp. 37-39, 51 | |
| Tue, Jan 22 | 5 | Light and anisotropic minerals (interference), Birefringence-thickness-retardation, extinction, vibration directions, sign of elongation | Double Refraction | Ch. 5 |
| Thu, Jan 24 | 6 | Uniaxial minerals, optics, optic sign, pleochroism | pp. 53-55, 65 | |
| Tue, Jan 29 | 7 | Uniaxial indicatrix (terminology: XYZ, abc/a1a2a3, omega-epsilon-epsilon', alpha-beta-gamma) | Uniaxials - orthoscopy | pp. 55-65 |
| Thu, Jan 31 | 8 | Conoscopy | pp. 65-68 | |
| Tue, Feb 5 | 9 | Uniaxial Interference Figures | Uniaxials - conoscopy | pp. 69-73 |
| Thu, Feb 7 | 10 | Midterm exam | ||
| Tue, Feb 12 | 11 | Biaxial minerals, optics, optic sign, pleochroism, indicatrix, relation to crystal axes | Biaxials - orthoscopy | pp. 77-78, 80-84, 86-87, 104-107 |
| Thu, Feb 14 | 12 | Biaxial interference figures | pp. 87-99, 103-104 | |
| Tue, Feb 19 | 13 | Biaxial interference figures ctd. | Biaxials - conoscopy | pp. 87-99, 103-105 |
| Thu, Feb 21 | 14 | 2V, Optic axis dispersion | pp. 99-103, 108-109 | |
| Tue, Feb 26 | 15 | Indicatrix dispersion | Identification of unknowns | pp. 109-111, Ch. 8 |
| Thu, Feb 28 | 16 | Feldspars in thin section | pp. 272-281 | |
| Tue, Mar 5 | 17 | X-ray diffraction | Handout | |
| Thu, Mar 7 | 18 | Mineral Identification | Ch. 8 | |
| Tue, Mar 12 | 19 | Making a thin section | pp. 303-304 | |
| Thu, Mar 14 | Lab practical exam (open book) | |||
| Mon, Mar 18 | Lecture Final 1-3 pm |