Malic Acid crystal explorations in polarized light [Large file warning]

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es_macro
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Malic Acid crystal explorations in polarized light [Large file warning]

#1 Post by es_macro » Sun Oct 07, 2018 12:52 pm

I recently bought an Olympus BH-2 off eBay from Carl H. and have been exploring the world of crystals in polarized light!

I love the painting feel of these brush stroke looking crystals
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And finally grew some big "feathers" at the right thickness for birefringence

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Thanks for looking!
Evan

MichaelG.
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Re: Malic Acid crystal explorations in polarized light [Large file warning]

#2 Post by MichaelG. » Sun Oct 07, 2018 2:24 pm

Very beautiful

MichaelG.
Too many 'projects'

billbillt
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Re: Malic Acid crystal explorations in polarized light [Large file warning]

#3 Post by billbillt » Sun Oct 07, 2018 3:32 pm

Yes, these are very beautiful.. Crystals are always a for of ever changing enjoyment..

BillT

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Aenima
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Re: Malic Acid crystal explorations in polarized light [Large file warning]

#4 Post by Aenima » Mon Oct 08, 2018 5:48 pm

amazing results - and yeah, have to agree they do look like they could have been painted by an artist. :)

great pics, congrats :)

Hobbyst46
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Re: Malic Acid crystal explorations in polarized light [Large file warning]

#5 Post by Hobbyst46 » Mon Oct 08, 2018 7:46 pm

Joining the compliments of the others here.

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es_macro
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Re: Malic Acid crystal explorations in polarized light [Large file warning]

#6 Post by es_macro » Mon Oct 08, 2018 11:04 pm

Thank you all for the kind words!

Here's another pano with some typical larger malic acid crystals

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Typical "random" smaller malic acid crystals

Image

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Re: Malic Acid crystal explorations in polarized light [Large file warning]

#7 Post by carlh6902 » Sun Nov 18, 2018 3:37 am

Evan,

Those sure truly some nice images. Tell us about the setup you used for these polarizing images. How did you outfit your BHTU to take these?

Carl
--- If you're in the Kansas City area and you need help with an Olympus BH-2 scope, PM me. I love to work on these things ---

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es_macro
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Re: Malic Acid crystal explorations in polarized light [Large file warning]

#8 Post by es_macro » Sun Nov 18, 2018 5:51 pm

carlh6902 wrote:Evan,

Those sure truly some nice images. Tell us about the setup you used for these polarizing images. How did you outfit your BHTU to take these?

Carl
Thanks Carl!

I'm using a Olympus CH-2 trinocular head and the 3.3x NFK photo eye-piece.

My camera (Canon 80D) is attached to regular extension tubes which sit on the rim of the PM-ADF eyepiece adapter (and duct taped to secure it). I don't think the sensor is actually at the "correct" height because I set it up to produce the largest image without vignetting. Image quality might take a hit, but it's the best solution I came up with short of throwing down the 600 for a 1.6x photo eye-piece or buying a full frame and a 2.5x. I'm pretty happy with the results.

With this setup I measured magnification for my 4x and 10x Olympus DPlan objectives at 7.5x and 18x (I think) respectively.

For polarization I went to a movie theater and asked for some 3D glasses =]
I also sometimes use a piece of cellophane as a waveplate

Thanks again for the beautifully reconditioned scope!

Here's a couple more malic acid panoramas

Image

Image

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Re: Malic Acid crystal explorations in polarized light [Large file warning]

#9 Post by Bryan » Sun Nov 18, 2018 7:31 pm

Those are beautiful, lately I’ve been growing some ascorbic acid Chrystal’s with some good results. What recipe did you use to grow the malic acid crystals? Is this from a malic acid supplement that you can get at the drug store or do you need a higher grade?

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es_macro
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Re: Malic Acid crystal explorations in polarized light [Large file warning]

#10 Post by es_macro » Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:48 pm

Bryan wrote:Those are beautiful, lately I’ve been growing some ascorbic acid Chrystal’s with some good results. What recipe did you use to grow the malic acid crystals? Is this from a malic acid supplement that you can get at the drug store or do you need a higher grade?
Thanks Bryan! Yup absorbic acid produces some great forms. I bought a bunch of random chems from purebulk.com, all high purity.

I mostly do evaporations, either assisted with heat from my electric stove or just set out for a while. Typically isopropyl, vodka or DI water as solvents. Malic acid also works well with melts, but I have decomposition issues with absorbic acid.
Sometimes I use a cover slip, which tends to slow down the crystallization, producing larger crystals.

If you're on instagram you can check my images @es_micro. I have some absorbic acid shots there if you're interested

Bryan
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Re: Malic Acid crystal explorations in polarized light [Large file warning]

#11 Post by Bryan » Mon Nov 19, 2018 2:24 am

es_macro wrote:
Bryan wrote:Those are beautiful, lately I’ve been growing some ascorbic acid Chrystal’s with some good results. What recipe did you use to grow the malic acid crystals? Is this from a malic acid supplement that you can get at the drug store or do you need a higher grade?
Thanks Bryan! Yup absorbic acid produces some great forms. I bought a bunch of random chems from purebulk.com, all high purity.

I mostly do evaporations, either assisted with heat from my electric stove or just set out for a while. Typically isopropyl, vodka or DI water as solvents. Malic acid also works well with melts, but I have decomposition issues with absorbic acid.
Sometimes I use a cover slip, which tends to slow down the crystallization, producing larger crystals.

If you're on instagram you can check my images @es_micro. I have some absorbic acid shots there if you're interested
Thanks, some great stuff on Instagram!

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