New Jersey fluorescent minerals

      All the specimens in the first four rows at right are from Franklin, New Jersey.  The minerals represented here are calcite, willemite, franklinite.  New Jersey is known as the fluorescent capital of the world and these minerals are the bread and butter of every fluorescent collection.   The photos to the right show the transformation of a rather ordinary looking rock under normal light in the left hand column to its fluorescent  colors using long and short wave ultraviolet lights.  In the center column the purple and pink colors are likely the result of reflection of the light off the otherwise white surface.  The green is the result of fluorescence of the willemite under long wave ultraviolet light.  This fluorescence under long wave is very faint.  In the right hand column you see the minerals fluorescing under short wave ultraviolet light.  The red/orange is calcite.  The green, for the most part is willemite.  The black areas are franklinite (it is non-fluorescing).  An added bonus of New Jersey minerals is that the willemite in the specimens will phosphoresce for a short while after the lights are turned off. in a darkened room.

       As I mentioned before, the first four rows are your standard New Jersey minerals (calcite and willemite) that are a must for every fluorescent collection.  The rows that follow will include minerals that are a little less common, to add some variety in our offerings.

       Rows number 5 - 10 are from the Sterling Hill Mine.  Row number  five contains three different minerals.  Looking at the third column, notice the yellow area in the middle of the left hand side and the top (lefrt of center).  This is wollastonite.  The darker red fluorescing 2/3rds center of the specimen is bustamite.  The green in the specimen is willemite.  Originally I thought it might have been chlorophane (like the bright green in the specimen below it), but it did not ffluoresce under long wave.  I also thought it might be monohydrocalcite because of its bright green fluorescence, but again it did not fluoresce under long wave.  So at this point my assumption is willemite.

       The next specime (row 6) is wollastonite (orange-yellow),  willemite (darker green).  chlorophane (brighter green).  The chlorophane also fluoresces a duller green under long wave and will phosphoresce after exposure to short wave..

       The next specimen (row 7), directly to the right contains wollastonite (yellow-orange along the right edge).  Willemite at the upper left .  The light purple running from the upper right to lower left is hardystonite.  Usually hardystonite will be a dark bluish-purple (there is a small area at the outside edge of the wollastonite about half way down.  And is also present in the specimen below on the upper right hand side.

       The specime at right (row 8) contains the minerals wollastonite (yellow-orange),.  hardystionite (dark bluish-purple), and margarosanite (a  light sky blue covering some of the hardystonite).

       The next specimen (row 9) at rigtht contains three minerals. wollastonite (yellow-orange) monohydrocalcite (bright green SW & LW) and non-fluorescing  gahnite.  The monohydrocalcite will phosphoresce after exposure to short wave ultraviolet light.  This is an excellent  specimen for this mineral.

       The specimen in row ten is also an excellent specimen for this mineral.  Wollastonite (yellow-orange)  The gahnite present is the non-fluorescing black colored mineral in the short wave photo.

       In all the  photos in rows 5-10 in the long wave column the pinks and purples are the long wave light  reflecting off the light colored mineerals in the specimen.




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Long wave ultraviolet light

 

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