Tourmaline var. Elbaite Pederneira Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil _________________________ Here’s a little homemade dichroscope! To see dichroism caused by birefringence in a colored mineral, all you need is a piece of optical calcite and a bright back light! For an additional cool effect, get a sheet of polarizing filter on Amazon! ____________________________ 1. The calcite is placed between the specimen and the camera, splitting the light from the crystal into its two constituent beams which are