Organizing Rogue Rods

Have you ever pulled a rod from the glass cabinet only to find you can't remember the correct spot to later store it?  With variations and over 300+ colors in the CoE 104 family comes rogue rods.  Here are a few tips and tricks to correctly reclassify pesky rods lingering around the studio.

Intense Black vs. Transparent Black:  Pull a think stringer of the rod, approximately 1mm.  If the stringer shows a transparent dark purple/black when held to a bright light, then the rod is transparent black.  A fine stringer of Intense Black will remain opaque in a bright light:


Transparent Pinks:  A few years back, I had 3 batches of transparent pinks become mixed.  I placed the rods on a sheet of white paper to verify color differences in a bright light, however it was impossible tell the colors apart.  In frustration, I bundled the glass and placed it on a shelf for later.  By accident I notice the end segments of the rods were different colors.  Taking the bundle outdoors in the bright sun, I was able to separate the colors by looking at the sliced end of the glass:

  Side view of sliced ends:

The Shadow Technique:  Transparent glass allows the light to shine through, casting a shadow.  The shadow projected on the foreground surface is unique to each color wavelength.  Notice the difference in the shadows of the CiM Testing photograph:
 
So when in doubt, try a few of the techniques to help sort things out.  Feel free to comment or send me an email with further questions.
Enjoy, Heather

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