The dizzying heights of Optical Mineralogy

Well I thought I would be immune to the nausea-inducing peculiarities of the petrographic microscopes we were warned about in Optical Mineralogy, but I was mistaken.  Trying to discover the different scale each objective displays at, I was moving the focus and stage at the same time.  I noticed right away that my body was displeased with what my eyes were telling it but tried to work quickly through it and ended up compounding the feeling.  I don't think it is like sea sickness, not that I've ever felt those effects, but it is its own sensation.  I'm still nauseous, and I've definitely learned my lesson.  One thing at a time on the microscope, which follows nicely with the scientific principle of only modifying one variable at a time in an experiment.

I find it oddly coincidental that on the day of my first foray with the colorful thin sections I was introduced to the fluorescence of scorpion exoskeletons.  Apparently, when an adult scorpions' cuticle is exposed to UV light, it produces a fluorescent glow due to the beta-Carboline in that casing.  This only occurs in adult scorpions, and when they molt their new casing takes time to produce the fluorescent effect again, and their shed casing continues to glow.



The two theories I find credible as to why this occurs are to lure in prey and/or as a form of sun protection when scorpions were more diurnal.

My main point in these two topics is that the properties of light have been a huge impact in my studies lately, and when even my Entomology class brings up the properties of light, I feel like science is both deeper and more interconnected than ever.  I may feel slightly different when I go a couple days without talking about photons, spectroscopy, or similar topics but right now things are oddly in harmony.


Photo Credit
skinheaddave. "Leiurus quinquestriatus, freshly moulted under UV light." http://www.arachnoboards.com