List of minerals by optical properties

Optical properties of common minerals
Name Crystal system Indicatrix Optical sign Birefringence Color in plain polars
Anorthite Triclinic Biaxial (-) 0.013 None
Biotite Monoclinic Biaxial (-) 0.045 Brown
Calcite Hexagonal Uniaxial (-) 1.486 None
Chlorite Monoclinic triclinic Biaxial (-) or (+) 0.011 Pale green
Cinnabar Trigonal Uniaxial (+) 0.351 None
Corundum Trigonal Uniaxial (-) 0.09 None
Cristobalite Tetragonal (pseudoisometric) Uniaxial (-) 0.003 None
Enstatite Orthorhombic Biaxial (+) 0.011 None
Epidote Monoclinic Biaxial (-) 0.046 None
Garnet Cubic None (isotropic) N/A N/A None
Glauconite Monoclinic Biaxial (-) 0.032 Light blue
Glaucophane Monoclinic Biaxial (-) 0.021 Pleochroic blue
Microcline Triclinic Biaxial (-) 0.010 None
Muscovite Monoclinic Biaxial (-) 0.042 None
Olivine Orthorhombic Biaxial (-) or (+) 0.042 Colorless to pale green
Orthoclase Monoclinic Biaxial (-) 0.005 None
Quartz (α) Hexagonal (trigonal) Uniaxial (+) 0.009 None
Sanidine Monoclinic Biaxial (-) 0.007 None
Talc Triclinic Biaxial (-) 0.051 None

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