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Song of the Water Sprite
Song of the Water Sprite
alfresco


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Diagonal (Basic Editing)
Camera: Nikon D70
Lens: Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
Location: Next to the falls
Date: Nov 28, 2006
Aperture: f/5.0
ISO: 200
Shutter: 13.0s
Galleries: Nature, Water
Date Uploaded: Nov 28, 2006

 Xenotime, everyone's favorite yttrium phosphate!

Xenotime is one of the very few minerals, let alone words, that starts with the letter X; a good word to remember in some word games. It is a widely spread mineral throughout the world although good crystals and therefore specimens are somewhat hard to find.

It is one of the few yttrium minerals known to science. Wakefieldite and chernovite-(Y) are other yttrium minerals, although a vanadate and an arsenate respectively. Often uranium or other rare elements such as erbium, thorium, ytterbium, zirconium and the not so rare calcium are found as traces in xenotime replacing the yttrium. Due to the presence of at least some of these radioactive elements, xenotime is frequently slightly radioactive.

Xenotime also will contain traces of silicon dioxide and arsenate replacing the phosphate anion. In fact it forms a solid solution series with the previously mentioned chernovite-(Y) whose formula is YAsO4. It is unusual to have a solid solution series involving the principle anions but it is not as complete a solid solution series as the more famous pyromorphite-vanadinite-mimetite series. That is a more complex phosphate-vanadate-arsenate series.

Also of note is that xenotime is one of the few phosphate minerals that does not contain water molecules, hydroxides or chlorides. It belongs to an informal group of phosphates and called the anhydrous phosphates along with monazite, purpurite and lithiophyllite.

The crystals of xenotime are similar to zircon and can easily be confused with the duller lustered, less transparent samples of zircon. However, the cleavage and the softness of xenotime are sufficient to distinguish them.
[courtesy galleries.com]

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon PowerShot S3 IS
 12/05/2006 07:24:39 PM
Great title, and neat luninesence. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7000
Nikon MF 50mm f/1.4
 12/05/2006 01:26:05 AM
Like the bright places in the water and the general shady tones.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-40D
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
 12/01/2006 01:03:47 PM
Nice use of shutter speed. Normally "moving water" shots get annoying but this is well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D80
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5- 5.6G ED DX
 11/30/2006 09:04:47 AM
Just a tad blue.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Pentax K10D
Sigma 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical HF for Pentax
 11/29/2006 06:19:03 AM
It's too blue! That makes it look less natural.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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