The wonder of earth science, without all the equations
This post, based on something I wrote for Helium back in 2011, was first blogged here in 2013. However, it’s a natural tie-in to yesterday’s post about chromium. The loose gemstone that Alfred the butler described to Master Bruce in The Dark Knight as “a ruby the size of a tangerine” would have been much
Aquamarine is a beryllium mineral like bertrandite or beryl, but its chemical formula is slightly different. Who would suspect that the addition of a little iron or a change in the amount of aluminum would make such a beautiful difference! More information: Gemdat. Wikipedia. GIC.
Turquoise made headlines recently when researchers discovered that Mesoamericans had more than one source for this gem that they valued highly. Not all of it came from the Southwest! However, visitors to New Mexico and other parts of the American Southwest today do see a lot of turquoise. If you’re heading there on vacation, here
It’s great to go for a hike with someone who knows what they’re looking at. Wait. Gold? You’re ending the video right after mentioning gold? Well, let’s head up to the Yukon and get some gold in the pan! But how do you know that the shiny yellow stuff you’ve just collected is gold, not
Here is more information on carnelian, which is very close to chalcedony. Featured image: Source, public domain. (Thank you, Metropolitan Museum of Art and Wikipedia!)
OK, so chocolate and sugar aren’t technically minerals…they’ve still powered a lot of geologists on field trips. In nature, you don’t know what’s in a geode until you cut it open. This can be a lot of fun, along with watching your YouTube views hit the million mark! (Note: They’re getting close to two million
After that, do you really want to know what the Kentucky Geological Survey has to say about gold and silver in this US state? Featured image: Loren Kerns. CC BY 2.0
Almost 30 million years ago, an asteroid or comet impact fused Saharan quartz grains into desert glass.
Topaz is the hardest silicon-based mineral, and its clarity and beautiful color make this a beautiful and very popular gemstone. Topaz got its name from the island of Topazos in the Red Sea, which is also known as Zabargad Island–once the source of all the world’s garnets. Besides being confused with those yellowish-green garnets, topaz
Microphotgraphy using polarized light yields beautiful art. It also is very helpful in learning more about a gem.
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