Database of luminescent minerals 

WHEWELLITE

Chemical formula: CaC₂O₄ H₂O

Family: Organic

Status: IMA-GP

Crystal system : Monoclinic

Display mineral: NON

Luminescence:

Daylight picture

Whewellite, Dolny, Bilina, Tchéquie.

Photo and Copyright: Gérard Barmarin.

Longwave (365nm) picture

Whewellite, UVLW, Dolny, Bilina, Tchéquie.

Photo and Copyright: Gérard Barmarin.

Shortwave (254nm) picture

Whewellite, UVSW, Dolny, Bilina, Tchéquie.

Photo and Copyright: Gérard Barmarin.

Pictures Galery:

  
  Go to the galery (8 pictures)

Do you have a photo of this mineral you would like to see in the gallery? Contact us!

Phosphorescence (in the common sense of the term) observable with the naked eye:

Comments:

Occurs as calculi or as a sediment in the human urinary tract. Also described as a product of fungal activity  in Limecrusts, some calcretes, leaf litter and soils in forests; also formed by lichen on various rocks (basalts, serpentinites, Cu-bearing rocks, gabbroes, dolerites, andesites); 

Cleaning any specimen containing Ca-bearing soluble species with oxalic acid will lead to crystallisation of whewellite or weddellite. (see https://www.mindat.org/min-4276.html)

Activator(s) and spectrum:

Activator(s): ST (Singlet-triplet)-Matière organique en impureté,

Peaks in the spectrum (nm):

410nm, 480nm, 512nm 546nm 604nm 708nm

Whewellite, Dolny, Tchequie.
Excitation: laser 405nm. Col. G. Barmarin; Spectre: G. Barmarin

Comments on spectrum and activators:

Whewellite is often polluted by organic compound probably causing the fluorescence and phosphorescence (Humic acid? polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons?).

Best localities for fluorescence (*):

• Crystals in septarian concretions of Elk Creek, Meade county, South Dakota, USA;
• Dolny, Bilina, Tchéquie;
• Bílina coal mine, Bílina (Bilin), Ústí Region, Bohemia (Böhmen; Boehmen), Czech Republic;
• Paitzdorf, Ronneburg U deposit, Gera, Thuringia, Germany (former DDR);
• Burgk, Dresden, Saxony, Germany;
• Ležáky quarry, Most, North Bohemia, Czech Republic;

(*)The data are not exhaustive and are limited to a few remarkable localities for fluorescence

Bibliographic reference for luminescence:

• The Henkel Glossary of Fluorescent Minerals, Dr. Gerhard Henkel, Published by the FMS, 1989 ,
• Fluorescence: Gems and Minerals Under Ultraviolet Light, Manuel Robbins, 1994, Geoscience Press, ISBN 0-945005-13-X ,
• Luminescent Spectra of Minerals, Boris S. Gorobets and Alexandre A. Rogojine, Moscow, 2002 ,

Reference for luminescence on the Internet:

Mineralogical reference on the Internet:

  http://www.mindat.org/show.php?name=Whewellite

  http://webmineral.com/data/Whewellite.shtml

Internet Search:

  Image search on 'Google Images'

  Search for documents in all languages on Google

  Search on Wikipedia