Rock strain fringes. Polarised light micrograph of strain fringes formed around magnetite crystals (the small black squares) in a phyllite matrix rock

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Rock strain fringes. Polarised light micrograph of strain fringes formed around magnetite crystals (the small black squares) in a phyllite matrix rock. The fibrous quartz in the fringes are formed by shear stresses from when the rock formed. This image has been obtained using cross-polarised light (or 'crossed nichols'), which helps make the strain fringes visible.

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Size: 5071px × 3591px
Photo credit: © DIRK WIERSMA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: cross, cross-polarised, cross-polarized, crossed, crystal, crystalline, crystals, earth, fringe, fringes, geological, geology, light, lm, magnetite, micrograph, microscope, microscopy, mineral, mineralogy, minerals, nichols, phyllite, plm, polarised, polarized, quartz, rock, rocks, science, section, sectioned, strain