virtual-geology.info

mineralogy

minerals in the news

• minerals as nutrients (BBC)
• diamond mining
• huge diamond in Guinea
• haematite on Mars
• new mineral on the moon
• Salt miners beat the freeze

web links

• ATHENA Mineralogy - online mineral database with photos
• Petrographic Workshop - browse mineral images, properties and definitions
• Mineral game - test your knowledge and understanding by trying these image-based quizzes
• Colours in minerals (CalTech)

images

• Mineral and Gem Gallery at the Smithsonian . Go to the Multimedia version, and select 'Gems and Minerals'
• feldspar twins in thin section
• The Mineral Cabinet
  
  

links for lectures

courseware

The courseware from the UK Earth Science Courseware Consortium is available on the PCs in the Cope Laboratory at Keele. It may also be available on the web. You may also buy the courseware on a CD-ROM from your Department representative.

To access the modules on the Web:

Go to http://www.ukescc.co.uk/ukescc7/earthsci.html
[You may need to hold down the control (Ctrl) key when clicking on a particular course icon
In the next window, select 'Trust All Locations' and 'Save Settings'.
The module should now open. If not, you may need to install a plugin for your browser]

The modules which are of particular use for this topic are: Optical Mineralogy, parts of Crystallography; parts of Basic Petrography

background information

• Basic chemistry - atoms, molecules, elements, compounds...
• glossary of mineralogy (Univ California, Berkeley)
• The Periodic Table of Videos
• The Periodic Table of the elements - interactive (about.com)
• WebElements - detailed information on each of the elements of the periodic table. Click on Geology to read about the geological aspects of each element

 

minerals

• physical properties (Tulane University, Louisiana)
• minerals by class (Mineral.Galleries.com)
• mineral identification exercise - test your skills! (Cal Poly, Pomona, California)


crystallography

• crystal symmetry (Tulane University, Louisiana)
• Crystal systems (animations - Glendale College, Arizona)
• Powerpoint lecture on symmetry (Whitman College, Washington - long, thorough & well -illustrated treatment of the topic - large file)
• Print your own crystal models (James Madison University, Virginia)
• rotatable crystal animations (webmineral.com)
• cubic crystal system animations (Indiana University Molecular Structure Center )


optical mineralogy

• illustrated notes on optical mineralogy topics (Brock University, Ontario)
• Minerals under the Microscope (University of Bristol)
• Minerals in thin section (Humboldt University) - extensive collection of images of minerals and rocks
• Optical properties of common minerals - photos, diagrams and text (Brock University, Ontario)
• introduction to microscope and thin sections (Idaho State University)
• Rock-Forming Minerals in Thin Section (University of Wisconsin, Green Bay)
• The polarizing microscope (Texas A & M University). Good introduction to microscope techniques
  
• Powerpoint lectures on optical mineralogy 1 2 (Whitman College - large files)
• Identification Tables for Common Minerals in Thin Section (University of Glasgow)
  
  
  

mineral structure

• cation sites in silicate minerals (Middlebury College)
• animations of mineral structures (Mineral Web). These excellent animations require you to download, free of charge, the Chime plugin for your web browser. Select a mineral from the dropdown menus. Rotate the model by dragging with the left mouse button; change the appearance by right-clicking and selecting from the menu.


mineral groups

• class notes on mineralogy (University of Minnesota, Duluth)
• properties of common minerals (University at Buffalo)

 

applied mineralogy

• Minerals and Materials Photo Gallery (US Government)
• impact of minerals on health

This page is maintained by . Last updated 26 November, 2008 15:15