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Ordered arrangements of spheres of two different sizes in opal

Nature volume 275, pages 201–203 (1978)Cite this article

Abstract

GEM OPALS consist of a regularly ordered array of silica spheres of uniform size1. Generally in any given gem stone the uniformity is maintained throughout the gem, although occasional samples contain bands in which the size varies from band to band. A sample of Brazilian gem opal of this banded type has now been found to contain a band in which there are spheres of two different sizes mixed together. Long-range ordering within this mixture has produced several different types of regular superstructures, which can be seen in section in electron micrographs of replicas of chips of this specimen (Fig. 1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Division of Materials Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia

    J. V. SANDERS & M. J. MURRAY

Authors
  1. J. V. SANDERS
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  2. M. J. MURRAY
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SANDERS, J., MURRAY, M. Ordered arrangements of spheres of two different sizes in opal. Nature 275, 201–203 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/275201a0

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