Alexandre A. Rogojine

The book describes spectral luminescent properties of a large group of minerals. This is the first publication of the kind that has no analogues in the scientific literature on the subject.

Part I presents classification of luminescent substances in nature at several systematic levels: global luminescent geospheres, geochemical luminescent anomalies and crystal-chemistry systematization of luminescent minerals.

New luminescence techniques are described: detection of luminescent properties of minerals (apatite, fluorite, calcite, plagioclases, scheelite, and other) versus their genetically-defined features; mineralogical analysis; models of luminescent haloes of kimberlite pipes, ruby bearing scarns, emerald-bearing rocks, etc. Techniques for luminescent sorting of minerals are also depicted.

Part II summarizes spectroscopic luminescent properties of minerals. It includes photo-, X-ray-, and cathodoluminescence spectra, excitation spectra and time-decay parameters of luminescent minerals broken into 25 groups. These groups represent homoatomic minerals, sulfides, halides and oxygenous minerals versus different metals in their formulas, groups of minerals with adsorbed luminescent impurities and a group of hydrocarbon minerals. Summary features of over two thousand samples of some 320 minerals are presented in numerous tables. Information on samples’ history is also provided (genetic types of mother rocks, names and geographic locations of deposits, etc.). The presented results are based on the analysis of about three thousand spectra measured at room and liquid-nitrogen temperatures. Most of the observed spectral bands and lines are ascribed to definite electron transitions in luminescent chemical elements and molecules.