X-Rays Are Keys to Mineral Identification

Identification of minerals by X-ray analysis of their atomic structure will make the University's Berman Memorial Laboratory the world's "most complete reference library" of mineral photographs within a year, Clifford Frondel and Cornelius S. Hurlburt, Jr., associate professors of Mineralogy and directors of the laboratory, announced yesterday.

Besides providing speedier identification, the new system will not subject rare minerals to destructive chemical tests.