The third edition of Introduction to Optical Mineralogy provides complete coverage of the optical properties of minerals and describes more than 125 common rock-forming minerals. Revised chapters on optical theory discuss the petrographic microscope, the nature and properties of light, the behavior of light in isotropic and anisotropic materials, and uniaxial and biaxial anisotropic optics. Comprehensive and accessible, this text is ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate classes in optical mineralogy. BLFeatures of the Third Edition BLReorganized so silicates-which comprise over %95 of the earth's crust-are discussed first to reflect their abundance and petrologic significance BLIncludes numerous photomicrographs and revised electronic illustrations throughout the text BLProvides step-by-step procedures on using the petrographic microscope and a flow chart detailing the process of identifying unknown minerals BLCovers light optics, opaque minerals, silicates, feldspars, zeolites, clay minerals, chain silicates, disilicates, ring silicates, carbonates, and native elements