Abstract
IN a recent communication, Watts1 describes a number of etch pits found in freshly cleaved calcite, and in particular notes that three, four- and five-sided pits are found, with the first two types having some curved sides. I have also observed similar shapes, and have examined these under a surface-finish interference microscope (C. Baker of Holborn, Ltd.) using a × 40 objective and a mercury vapour lamp with a green filter (λ = 0.564µ). This type of interferometer compares the surface under investigation with a reference surface in the objective, and shows a magnified image of the surface crossed by fringes. These fringes are straight for a perfectly plane surface, whereas irregularities cause the fringes to be shifted into a pattern that may be likened to a contour map, of vertical spacing 0.273µ. The number and direction of the fringes in the field may be varied by tilting the specimen.
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Watts, H., Nature, 183, 314 (1959).
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STANLEY, R. Etch Pits on Calcite Cleavage Faces. Nature 183, 1548 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/1831548a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1831548a0
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