Mineralogical Society of America, Founded December 30, 1919

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Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry by F. Donald Bloss, $20
Optical Crystallography by F. Donald Bloss, $20
Optical Crystallography Simplified - The spindle stage: Principles and Practice by F. Donald Bloss, $50
Metamorphic Phase Equilibria And Presure-Temperature-Time-Paths by Frank S. Spear, $60
Teaching Mineralogy by John B. Brady, David W. Mogk and Dexter Perkins III, editors, Out of Print
Care and Documentation of Mineral Collections by Jean F. DeMouthe, $30
WWII, Mineralogy and Me: A memoir by F. Donald Bloss, $25
N.L. Bowen And Crystallization Differentiation: The Evolution Of A Theory by David A. Young, $16
Crystal Structures Volume 1: Patterns And Symmetry by Michael O'Keeffe and Bruce G. Hyde, Out of Print


Cover of Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry: An Introduction (print version)


Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry
An Introduction
(print version)

ISBN 0-939950-37-5

F. Donald Bloss

Holt, Rinehart and Winston first published Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry: An Introduction, in 1971 and it is still in use after 53 years. Because of its popularity as an undergraduate text MSA reprinted it in 1994 and again in 2000 as a paperback with minor revisions from the 1971 text.

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Cover of Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry: An Introduction (electronic version)


Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry
An Introduction
(electronic version)

ISBN 978-1-946850-04-1

F. Donald Bloss

An electronic version as a pdf of the MSA 2000 reprint with the minor revisions from the 1971 text.

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Contents of Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry

the complete table of contents


Cover of Optical Crystallography


Optical Crystallography

F. Donald Bloss
(Reprinted 1999) 239 pages. ISBN 0-939950-49-9.

An Introduction to the Methods of Optical Crystallography, by F. Donald Bloss, was first published in 1961. That edition still stands as a classic in the field. It is technically sound and the explanations are, for the most part, clear and understandable even to a typical sophomore-level geology major. The 1961 edition was reprinted, but not revised, in 1967, and for many years it remained a widely used textbook for undergraduate courses in optical mineralogy.

2001 Review in American Mineralogist

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Optical Crystallography


Optical Crystallography
An Introduction
(electronic version)

ISBN 978-1-946850-07-2

F. Donald Bloss

An electronic version as a pdf of the MSA 1999 reprint with the minor revisions and updates.

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Contents of Optical Crystallography

the complete Table of Contents and Preface


Front cover of Optical Crystallography Simplified - The spindle stage: Principles and Practice


Optical Crystallography Simplified - The spindle stage: Principles and Practice

F. Donald Bloss
(2017) i-xii + 340 pages. ISBN 978 0939950 43 0.

This book describes methods for the optical characterization of crystals as well as for supplementing the more conventional methods of determining crystal structure, such as X ray. The spindle stage permits extremely accurate determination of the orientation of crystals under polarized light. The increased precision of spindle-stage techniques allows analyses of the close relationship between the composition of a crystal and its optical properties. This means that experimental errors are less likely to mask the effect on the optical properties caused by the minor compositional variations superimposed on the primary composition of a solid solution series.

For amateur mineralogists, the conoscopic and the graphic methods for analyzing extinction data described in the first three chapters are generally sufficient, whereas professional and forensic microscopists who desire greater accuracy may prefer to use the statistical methods and computer programs discussed in the later chapters. No other book deals exclusively and in such detail with the spindle stage. This volume will be welcomed by graduate students and professionals in mineralogy, crystallography, and petrology.

Optical Crystallography Simplified, Table of Contents and Preface

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Front cover of C. Steven Guideook


The Programs

The original computer program EXCALIBR (Bloss and Riess, 1973) was developed to solve optical extinction data, as determined with a spindle stage, and determine the optic axial angle 2V and the orientation of the crystal’s optical indicatrix. The program has been rewritten and improved several times, and to run on different platforms. Four versions are posted here, from most recent to the original.

Microsoft Excel spreadsheet version EXCELIBR (Steven and Gunter, 2018) solves for the optical orientation of biaxial or uniaxial minerals using extinction data. The guidebook, Orienting and Measuring the Optical Properties of Crystals, demonstrates how to use EXCELIBR with a few example methods, while also demonstrating practical skills in optical crystallography.

The Windows-based version of EXCALIBRII was EXCALIBRW (Gunter et al., 2005). It is mathematically more robust in its solution algorithms, and provides solutions for crystals in less favorable orientations than the earlier versions of EXCALIBR, and has a stereographic output. The version posted here is the executable file.

EXCALIBRII (Bartelmehs, Bloss, Downs, and Birch, 1992). Like the original EXCALIBR, it solves optical extinction data, but uses a modification to Joel's equation as a means of obtaining the optic axes of a crystal. The new algorithm eliminates the need to solve the extinction data, quartet by quartet, as the first step towards finding a solution, as required by EXCALIBR. Furthermore, EXCALIBR II successfully solves extinction data where one optic axis of a biaxial crystal is 90° to the spindle axis, an orientation that had thwarted its predecessor. EXCALIBR II also accurately determines the optical indicatrix orientation for uniaxial crystals.

The oldest version posted here is EXCALIBR the source code and PC-based executable version of the oridinal version (Gunter, M.E., Bloss, F.D., and Su., S.C. (1988)). This "zipped" file has six files, the readme file and:


References


Cover of Metamorphic Phase Equilibria And Presure-Temperature-Time-Paths


Metamorphic Phase Equilibria And Pressure-Temperature-Time-Paths

Frank S. Spear
(reprinted 1995) 799 pages. ISBN 0-939950-34-0.

Now in its second printing, Metamorphic Phase Equilibria and Pressure-Temperature-Time Paths is a monograph on metamorphic petrology written by Frank S. Spear and published by the Mineralogical Society of America. The book introduces concepts at an introductory level, and provides development to a graduate student level, so that the book may be used (selectively) in a variety of courses.

Table of Contents

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Cover of Teaching Mineralogy


Teaching Mineralogy (now Open Access)

John B. Brady, David W. Mogk and Dexter Perkins III, editors
(2011) i-viii + 406 pages. ISBN 978-0-939950-44-7.

This book is an outgrowth of a workshop on teaching mineralogy held at Smith College in June 1996 and sponsored by a grant from the Division of Undergraduate Education, National Science Foundation. Seventy participants, from diverse institutional settings and from all academic ranks, met to explore common interests in improving instruction in mineralogy. Within this volume you will find numerous exercises that can be applied in the teaching of mineralogy and related courses. There are hands-on, experimental, theoretical, and analytical exercises. All have been written with the hope of optimizing student learning. The exercises in this volume provide examples of innovative ways that mineralogy can be taught using a variety of materials and teaching techniques.

This out of print Monograph is now Open Access and available for downloading


Front cover of Care and Documentation of Mineral Collections Back cover of Care and Documentation of Mineral Collections


Care and Documentation of Mineral Collections

Jean F. DeMouthe
(2017) i-vi + 94 pages. ISBN 978-0-939950-99-7.

Jean Demouthe was a geologist in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Geology, California Academy of Science in San Francisco, CA. She worked for the Academy from October 1973 until October 2017 and held the position of Senior Collections Manager for Geology. As collection manager her responsibilities involved the organization, documentation, and storage of several million specimens, including fossils, microfossils, minerals, gemstones, and meteorites. Dr. DeMouthe also contributed to the exhibits and education programs at the Academy, and was been an active field trip leader. She taught collections management and the conservation of objects in the graduate Museum Studies program at San Francisco State University.

This work is an attempt to provide information and guidance on all aspects of caring for and documenting mineral collections, for professionals and amateurs alike. It is dedicated to everyone who shares a love of minerals, and those who care for and about collections.

Table of Contents
How I became interested in mineralogy - Jean DeMouthe (1949-2017)

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Cover of N.L. Bowen And Crystallization Differentiation: The Evolution Of A Theory


N.L. Bowen And Crystallization Differentiation: The Evolution Of A Theory

David A. Young
(1998) 276 pages. ISBN 0-939950-47-2.

1999 Review in Journal of Petrology

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Cover of WWII, Mineralogy and Me: A memoir


WWII, Mineralogy and Me: A memoir

F. Donald Bloss
i-xxvi + 322 pages. ISBN 978-0-939950-89-8; 0-939950-89-8.

F. Donald Bloss is a distinguished mineralogist and is the leading proponent of and scholar in the field of optical crystallography of minerals. He is one of only two individuals to hold the positions of President of the Mineralogical Society of America and Editor-in-Chief of American Mineralogist. He is also the eponym of the mineral blossite.

WWII, Mineralogy and Me: A Memoir begins with Don growing up poor in Chicago before and during the Depression, weaves through his service as a Conscientious Objector during WWII, and follows his academic career from his early school days through his role in helping to establish perhaps the preeminent department in the mineral sciences in the world at Virginia Tech. Don traces his life through those things important to him, including family, students, colleagues, and, above all, Louise, his wife. As in most lives, there are triumphs and heart-breaking tragedies. Don also provides a front-row seat to anyone who wishes to see the evolution of optical mineralogy over the past half century.

Table of Contents

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Cover of Crystal Structures Volume 1: Patterns And Symmetry


Crystal Structures Volume 1: Patterns And Symmetry (Out of Print)

Michael O'Keeffe and Bruce G. Hyde
(1996) 453 pages. ISBN 0-939950-40-5.

Table of Contents

This book is out of print


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