Thread:BixbiteTheGreat/@comment-34012245-20190524211520

Minerals can be found practically anywhere on Earth. From pebbles on the road to the deepest sea trenches, they make up a large part of the living and nonliving things that exist in our beloved planet.

Minerals are non-organic, naturally occurring substances on Earth’s crust, which is the outermost layer of four that make up the insides of our planet. They can be found by themselves as pure mineral nuggets, nevertheless, they often bond together in intricate structures to form a variety of rocks and stones with their very own unique characteristics. Granite, for example, is a conglomeration of the minerals quartz, feldspar, mica, and sometimes other minor substances. The large category of minerals has several minor groups, but one of the most important ones is the gem category.

All gems are minerals, but not all minerals are gems. This is due to the way they form. Extreme heat and pressure are the main forces that act underground, and they are responsible for the formation of most gems and some mineral rocks as well. Carbon atoms would normally form a carbon stone, for instance. However, when exposed to intense pressure and high temperatures, the atoms arrange in a special structure to create the valuable gem known as diamond. We can theorize that a higher amount of these variables means that a gemstone will be formed but, much like a recipe, every mineral has specific conditions that must be met for it to crystallize correctly.

On Earth, gems occur in assorted forms and shapes. Gems found in nature, commonly called raw gems, are almost always found embedded deep inside the ground because of their formation. Sometimes, a person will be lucky enough to find a gemstone formation in caves or rocky places. Most of the time, however, arduous work in large mines is needed to extract a substantial amount of gem, and even then it is tough to find a place with a significant source. This mining[A1]  increases the value of what would otherwise be a rare natural resource.

Polished gems are even more valuable than simple raw gems. In essence, they are raw gems polished into shapes in order to reduce impurities and give them a clearer, finer appearance. There are several ways in which gems can be cut, though they have to be chosen correctly as each gem has a crystal structure that must be respected. Since the process of cutting and polishing takes time, specialists, and special machinery, it significantly increases the cost of a gem. Polished gems are often used in jewelry; it is somewhat uncommon to find jewelry with unpolished gems as the main decoration.

Gems are further subdivided into precious and semi-precious categories. Precious gems are very costly and include those such as diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. Semi-precious gems include turquoises, jaspers, amethysts, and the like. The basis to categorize gems is how easy they are to find. For example, since quartzes are among the most abundant minerals on earth, their value is reduced and therefore they are often classified as semi-precious.

Minerals and gems are used for various purposes other than just jewelry and decoration. For a quick example, the highly valued hard diamonds are sometimes used for dentists’ drills. Quartz is rarely used in ornaments; in fact, it is a main component of glass and used in the internal mechanism of some watches. This is why the specific mineral needs to be identified correctly, as they serve wildly different uses which vary from specific to daily.

How are minerals identified? There is a set of several tests that can be run on a sample to find out just what kind of mineral it is. Some of these tests include the hardness, luster, cleavage, color, and structure a sample possesses. The interesting thing about these tests is that anyone can perform most of them. In fact, few are the examinations that need special lab equipment.

Color is likely to be the first test performed on a sample. However, it is not the most reliable way to distinguish a mineral. This is due to the fact that one single mineral can have various color tones even if it contains a minuscule amount of impurities, which are the reason for color changes. Quartz is a vivid example of this occurrence, happening in pink (rose quartz), white (milky quartz), purple (then named amethyst), and nearly every color of the rainbow.

The streak test is somewhat similar to the color test, but more accurate. It is performed by using a streak plate, which is basically an unglazed ceramic tile, and a mineral sample. The sample is dragged once across the plate and the color of the powder left behind is recorded. This is important because some minerals like quartz leave the same colored powder despite their external color. It makes telling pyrite from gold a breeze, for example. Pyrite has a blackish streak while gold has a golden powder as streak.

The hardness test is performed using a scale named the Mohs Hardness Scale, named this way for the man who invented it. It works by scratching a sample with ten known minerals and matching up the results with the minerals. The number one in the test is talc, and the hardest level, ten, is a diamond. So for example, if a sample isn’t scratched by a level four but a level five nicks it, it probably means that the mineral’s hardness is around 4.5.

Luster is a measure of how a mineral sample reflects light. A flashlight is shined on it and the reflection is recorded. Some of the most common results are the metallic, dull, pearly, and vitreous luster. Cleavage is the way a mineral breaks. This is called fracture when it breaks like glass and cleavage when the broken parts look like thin fragile slabs.

Structure is one of the last examinations to be performed on a mineral. This one shows the way mineral atoms are arranged and is important to help gemologists determine the way a gem would be cut to maintain its properties intact.

There are other miscellaneous tests that can be run, such as the chemical reaction and reading of radioactivity levels. These tests help further identify a sample’s specific characteristics, which is useful when dealing with similar-looking minerals.

As we can see, even the most abundant substance on Earth is something intriguing and worth investigating . From dull slate to dazzling topaz formations, minerals serve us a variety of uses and are valuable natural resources that must be used wisely. 