Opal var: Opal-AN (formerly Hyalite Opal) (fluorescent)

Item Description

Here we have a large cabinet display specimen of this hard to find material from this pegmatite deposit in North Carolina. We've seen a few of these over the years, and they are some of the most vividly fluorescent minerals you'll find from almost anywhere outside of Franklin, New Jersey. This piece is coated by micro Opal-AN, a variety of Opal that was referred to as "Hyalite" for decades. The new definition of the material refers to amorphous Opal with a glass-like structure, The "A" in the name stands for amorphous; the subscript "N" is to imply its structure is network-like similar to silica glass. Under XXXXXXXXXX UV light, the piece GLOWS with a vibrant green hue. Now please note, we have a strong wattage UV light, and if you try to use one of those little handheld UV flashlight devices you will NOT get the same result as an AC powered light with a much stronger bulb. A fantastic BIG example of these beautiful Opal specimens from an unlikely locale.
From the collection of Armon McPherson, a retired physicist, now living in New Mexico. Armon received his PhD from North Carolina State University in 1985, and worked at the laser laboratory at the University of Illinois at Circle Center. In the summer of 1997, Armon moved to the Argonne National Laboratory where he worked at the Advanced Photon Source, then the world’s largest synchrotron facility dedicated as an x-ray source. In 2001, he was asked to join a team at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque to conduct laser research for DARPA. Finally, staying within Sandia, he transferred to the Z Facility, the world’s most powerful x-ray facility. He retired in the spring of 2017. Armon's introduction to mineral collecting came in the 1980s during graduate school when he attended his first mineral show. He took up the hobby of faceting gems, and focused his early collection on gem crystals, and later transitioned into collecting non-gem species. We are proud to offer specimens from his worldwide mineral collection here for you.