Elenco Fiber Optics Voice Data Kit - Manual (Page 14)

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9999 A A A A RR R R oooo cccc kkkk CCCC aaa a llll llll eeee dddd UUU U llll eeee xxxx iiii tttt eeee
Nature's version of a fiber optic product
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Long before any of us were on this earth, Nature was creating its own fiber optic product. It is
called Ulexite, or the "TV rock."
M M M M aaa a tttt eeee rrrr iiii aaa a llll ssss N N N N eeee eeee dddd eeee dddd ::::
Ulexite (off-white, irregular-shaped rock)
FFFF OO O O LLLL LLLL OOO O W W W W TTTT HHHH EEEE SSSS EEEE SSSS TTTT EEEE PPPP SSSS ::::
• Place the Ulexite flat over the print on this page and
observe the top surface of the crystal.
• Move the rock over an area of several square inches
on the page. What do you see? Now move your head
so you're observing the rock's top surface from an
angle off to one side. How does the image change?
• Notice the areas of cloudiness or darkness in some
parts of the crystal.
• Pick up the Ulexite and examine its sides . You can see
that it actually consists of thousands of tiny fibers side
by side.
R R R R EEEE SSSS UU U U LLLL TTTT SSSS ::::
You should have seen an image of printed text from
the page appearing to be transferred from underneath the
stone to its top surface. As you move your head from
directly above the stone to one side, the location of the
image doesn't change. The image will appear as it does at
the top surface of the rock. You will not be able to see any images through the side of the stone.
W W W W HHHH Y Y Y Y ::::
The Ulexite rock is composed of thousands of tiny transparent filaments that are all parallel to
each other. Each filament transmits one tiny portion (a dot) of the image from one side of the stone to
the other.
UU U U LLLL EEEE X X X X IIII TTTT EEEE FFFF A A A A CCCC TTTT SSSS ::::
Our "TV rock" Ulexite is a mineral composed of chains of sodium, water and hydroxide
octahedrons (figures with eight plane surfaces) linked in endless chains. These chains form the fibrous
structure that transmits an image from one side of the rock to the other. The scientific name for the
mineral is hydrated sodium calcium borate (NaCaB506(OH)6- H2O).
Ulexite is found in Nature with the mineral borax and is directly deposited in arid regions when
water evaporates from intermittent lakes called playas. Playas form only during the rainy season due to
runoff (in this case, from nearby boron-rich mountains).
Boron is very water-soluble, and builds up in heavy
concentrations in the playas during the runoff and
evaporation cycles. Ulexite is found in California and
Nevada, USA; Tarapaca, Chile; and Kazakhstan, in the
former Soviet Union. The sample in this kit came from
Borax, California.
Ulexite at this time is considered a low-grade boron
source ore with no commercial use. As the richer boron ore
in mines is depleted, Ulexite may one day be refined and
used commercially. For now, it's used mostly as a mineral
specimen, and in fun fiber optic experiments.
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