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An investigation of nephrite jade by electron microscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

M. Dorling
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL
J. Zussman
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL

Abstract

Two specimens of tremolite and one of richterite, all with nephrite jade texture, have been examined by transmission electron microscopy using ion-thinning for specimen preparation. The specimens contain clusters of very small lath-like crystallites with z-axes approximately parallel but in a range of azimuthal orientations. It is suggested that these clusters which are themselves in varied orientations are the result of post-tectonic recrystallization of strained amphibole crystals, the new crystals inheriting the z-axis orientations of the old. The extreme toughness of nephrite jade is attributed to a number of the sub-microscopic features observed, including the sizes, habits, and orientations of its crystallites, and the nature of its grain boundaries.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1985 

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