What is it about?
Ellipsoids are very helpful to understand the optical properties of crystals and to undertand some of the properties that can be observed using a petrographic microscope (such as interference figures and optical signs). 3D printed ellipsoids sectioned in relevant directions are introduced as a teaching/learning tool.
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Why is it important?
Crystal optics is generally perceived by students as a difficult subject, this paper could be used both for students and lecturers to find ways to undertand/teach this subject in a different way.
Perspectives
My view is that there is a lot of potential to introduce the possibilities of 3D printing for teaching purposes in a large variety of fields, specifically in Crystallography we can now print molecules, unit cells, crystals and its properties and analyse their symmetry touching a solid object. This paper is just an example but many more applications could be envisaged.
Lluís Casas
Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Three-dimensional-printing aids in visualizing the optical properties of crystals, Journal of Applied Crystallography, April 2018, International Union of Crystallography,
DOI: 10.1107/s1600576718003709.
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