GENERAL GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Optically anisotropic materials have different optical properties in different directions. Double refraction is an optical property where a single ray of unpolarized light entering an anisotropic medium is split into two rays, each traveling in a different direction (as shown in Fig. 6.6).

Detailed explanation-2: -Anisotropic materials are materials whose properties vary when measured in different directions.

Detailed explanation-3: -Isotropic refers to the properties of a material which is independent of the direction whereas anisotropic is direction-dependent. These two terms are used to explain the properties of the material in basic crystallography.

Detailed explanation-4: -Many crystals are anisotropic to light ("optical anisotropy"), and exhibit properties such as birefringence. Crystal optics describes light propagation in these media. An “axis of anisotropy” is defined as the axis along which isotropy is broken (or an axis of symmetry, such as normal to crystalline layers).

Detailed explanation-5: -Isotropic vs Anisotropic Minerals Isootropic minerals have the same physical and chemical properties in all directions, while anisotropic minerals have different properties in different directions. For example, the mineral quartz is isotropic, while the mineral tourmaline is anisotropic.