Fluorescent Mineral Displays

Any fluorescent mineral collectors out there, how do you display your collection? I have seen the displays in museums, and while fantastic, I don't have the money for a 100 W 3 ft long fluorescent Lamp and a 20 x 8 room with a glass wall. How do you do it in your own house? I am trying to get ideas so I can get something together for my own collection.

Photos would be great.

Thanks,

Bryan

Bryan,

I have a wood cabinet with a glass front door. It is about 3 feet on each side. Inside has shelves around the outer 3 sides. The entire inside is painted flat black. I have a LW, SW, and Midwave light attached to the top so that all specimens on the inside are exposed. It is a good way to keep hands off and yet show the uv minerals to kids and friends.

I am sure there are better ways, but this is portable and works well.

Rick

I have several bookcase-like units. I took two by fours, cut to the width of the shelves, and painted them flat black. I then used them as risers, stacking them toward the back of each shelf, so that there are three levels on each shelf to display the specimens. The fronts of the units are open.

For lighting, all I have are my hand-held UV lamps, in SW, MW and LW. So if I want to give someone a show, I just move the different lamps over the display. This is all set up in my basement, so I can make it pretty dark down there, even in the middle of the day. Not as nice as having lamps fixed in place that you can just switch on, but it works for me.

Hi,

I have been warned by my lamp store owner that the UV lamps are both dangerous for skin and for eyes. So how can I make sure that this will not provide any issues? is this only valid looking directly in to these lights? Or should the lamp be switched on and of for short periodes, like most museums do?

He suggested to try an UV lamp (small Tube Light) from the Pet store of 10€ used for Aquariums and Ponds (something with steralising the water) and he sayd that the spectrum of these lamps is quite wide.

Any reactions??

regards

Jervin

1) You don't want to look directly at the bulbs, or direct reflections (especially the SW ones), they can cause eye damage.
2) You really don't want to keep the lights on if no one is viewing the specimens. The bulbs, and especially the filters have a finite lifetime and they are a bit on the expensive side.

I'm with David on this one, basically the LW is low risk to no risk, and it is mostly the
SW that threatens skin and retinas, along with those broadspectrum fluorescent blacklight tubes.
I just keep my specimens in a single drawer in my cabinet and haul them out whenever
I entertain an interested person, and then,I use a hand held LW LED,or my plug in with the two bulbs and 2 filterglass panels
for separately showing LW or SW reacting minerals
[I am personally praying daily for an efficient SW LED flashlight]
but I do love my little handheld LW LED flaslight for its power and compactness...
having lived long enough to remember those humungous so called portables of the 50's
and 60's

Ray, David,

I found (Dutch) kortegolf UV 254 nm, langegolf UV 366 nm I guess SW stands for kortegolf and LW for langegold, which one works for Fluorite? LW/SW? My mineral encyclopedia does not mention this. Probably I could find it on the net, but hey you guys know these things.....Are these LED's obtainable in an electronic parts store or do ineed to order them? and are the minerals affected?


cheers

UV 254 nm - Short Wave, 366 nm longwave

The light source for UV posters runs around 390nm. These are relatively safe and cheap. Long wave tends to excite fewer minerals than SW.

I've bought a complete TL armature for €22.00 (Philips armature with switch, wiring, 220V connector etc) and and a 6W TL blacklight €9.00 (TL) mostly used to check money at jewelry stores, and it's great! the fluorites are purple/blue, some calcites are really yellow and I've got a green colored unknown stone that looks like Calicite (same cristal form) and especially a very red Ruby that really draws attention. As long as the tL is max 25cm away it is ok, further away only the yellow stones are bright. TL mounted on the bottom of a wooden "plank" above the fluoricent stones (no idea what that is in englisch but it is the wood you put the books on in a cupboard) with no direct view in the lamp.

Works for me.

Thanx Bryan to start this discussion