Fascinating news about plate tectonics broke this week, but until today I haven’t been able to grasp it well enough for a post. Basically, boffins
Category: Minerals and elements
Repost: Guest Videos: Chromium, A Critical Mineral
Most people think of one or more of the following when they hear the word “chromium”: Shiny, shiny chrome The open-source platform underlying Google’s browser
Repost: Antimony: A Critical Mineral
Look how careful these scientists are with that material! And yet people in the past used it all the time: Ancient Egyptians might have considered
Repost: How Emeralds Form
Ever wonder what the jeweler is looking for with that loupe? Here you go: And that brings us to this 2014 post on how emeralds
Repost: Cesium–A Critical Mineral
Cesium (“caesium,” outside the US) is not just a ringtone. Nor is it simply the atom used in ultra-precise clocks that make everything from the
Repost: Iron Pyrite – Fool’s Gold
I once found a mother lode of gold, or thought I had. We lived in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, and one summer weekend
