Pleochroism

Pleochroism is an optical phenomenon in which grains of a rock appear to be different colors when observed at different angles under a petrographic microscope.

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Pleochorism is caused by the double refraction of light by a colored gem or crystal. Light of different polarizations is bent different amounts by the crystal, and therefore follows different paths through the crystal. The components of a divided light beam follow different paths within the stone and travel at different speeds, and each path will absorb different colors of light. When the stone is observed at some angle, light following some combination of paths and polarizations will be present, each of which will have had light of different colors absorbed. At another angle, the light passing through the stone will be composed of another combination of light paths and polarizations, each with their own color. The light passing through the stone will therefore have different colors when it is viewed from different angles, making the stone seem to be of different colors.

Some stones show two colors or shades and are called dichroic. Some show three and are trichroic. Gems are sometimes cut and set either to display pleochroism or to hide it, depending on the colors and their attractiveness.

Pleochroism is an extremely useful tool in mineralogy for mineral identification, since minerals that are otherwise very similar often have very different pleochroic color schemes. In such cases, a thin section of the mineral is used and examined under transmitted light in a microscope.

See also

• Birefringence