Dogtooth Calcite

Calcite (CaCO3) is a mineral found in many different crystal forms. Dogtooth Calcite are calcite crystals that grow in a certain crystal form. This shape is long, pointed and resembles a dog's canines. This crystal shape comes in a wide variety of sizes, and of course the small ones are more common than the big ones. The growth of very large crystals, also called Dogtooth Spars, takes an extremely long time in undisturbed, calcite-rich water. Dogtooth Calcite crystals are quite common. Normally they are quite small, say a few millimeters.

In the photos we are introduced to the fluorescent properties of this mineral. Long pass fluorescence filter blocks were used for the exposure of the mineral sample: DAPI 375 nm excitation wavelength (UV) and MB 480 nm excitation wavelength (blue light).

The microscope used is the Motic AE31E inverted microscope. The condenser has been removed to accommodate the sample, because it is far too large to place under a normal microscope. In this maybe a little unusual way, you can view the sample well, but from below. In order to create acceptable images, the Moticam ProS5 Plus was used to be able to cope with low light conditions and the images are a result of stacks of more than hundred photos.

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