Optical Properties of Naturally Occurring Rhodochrosite Between 0.33 microm and 25 microm.

In line with a continuing program on compositional remote sensing, a mineral (rhodochrosite, MnCO(3)) with many absorption bands has been chosen for the accurate determination of the complex index of refraction between 0.33 microm and 2.5 microm. In the present determinations of the complex index of refraction, the effects of scattering and absorption have been separated by applying the theory of Kubelka and Munk to a thin section and a powder sample. A correlation was found between the reflection minima (for an average 1-microm powder specimen) and the attenuation index maxima and the minima of the scattering coefficient.