December 13, 2002

AMATEUR NIGHT: OPTICAL ABERRATIONS
PRESENTATIONS ~ SILENT AUCTION ~ DOOR PRIZE

SMSI Minutes 13 Dec. 02 Amateur Night.

Kendall Winter polarized with his polariscope an unusual macro calcite crystal habit which did not show double refraction since the c-axis was the dominant face of the crystal from Acushnet Mass.

Anna Teetsov gave packages of 1.5-3. mm cover slides and demonstrated their transference and use. Anna also had reprints of the Butterflies and Art. The Microscope v 50 n.1 pp9-19 2002.

Sharon Jankauskas covered Coleoptera mostly Cerambycidae which her cat discovered in 1999.

Bob Svidron touched on poison ivy and stinging nettles with their look alikes.

Wynn Hopkins leveled and angled crystal shaped models and a light

Stan Schmidt reviewed a book of dubious worth by P. Cornwell and compared it with John Delly's brilliant analysis of Jack-the-Ripper murders.

Art Struss showed slides and covered the major aspects of perlite and its use in the building industry. This detailed and informative presentation deserves a whole evening by itself.

Bill Mikuska reviewed with John Burnett's power point presentation the spatial birefringence in calcium fluoride and barium fluoride Physical Review B v. 64 241102 by John H. Burnett, Zachary H. Levine and Eric L. Shirley. This article revises our understanding of certain isotropic crystals which, at VUV wavelengths, behave heptaxially.

Joe Barabe, in Decorative Decor: Emerald Green in 19th Century Interiors, presented a study of Paris (emerald) green pigment, copper acetoarsenite, in wallpapers from Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky which dated from 1850 to 1890.

Respectfully submitted, Stan Schmidt, Recording Secretary