Amazing mineral. Minerals: names
Nature gives man the opportunity to enjoy the benefits it produces. Therefore, people live quite comfortably and have everything they need. After all, water, salt, metals, fuel, electricity and much more - everything is created naturally and further transformed into the form necessary for a person.
The same goes for natural products such as minerals. These numerous diverse crystalline structures are an important raw material for a huge number of the most diverse industrial processes in the economic activity of people. Therefore, we will consider what types of minerals are and what these compounds are in general.
Minerals: general characteristics
In the generally accepted sense in mineralogy, the term "mineral" means a solid body consisting of chemical elements and possessing a number of individual physical and chemical properties. In addition, it should be formed only naturally, under the influence of certain natural processes.
Minerals can be formed both by simple substances (native) and complex ones. The ways of their formation are also different. There are such processes that contribute to their formation:
Large aggregates of minerals collected in single systems are called rocks. Therefore, these two concepts should not be confused. Mountain minerals are mined precisely by crushing and processing whole pieces of rocks.
The chemical composition of the compounds under consideration can be different and contain a large number of various impurities. However, there is always one main thing that dominates the composition. Therefore, it is it that is decisive, and impurities are not taken into account.
The structure of minerals
The structure of minerals is crystalline. There are several options for lattices with which it can be represented:
- cubic;
- hexagonal;
- rhombic;
- tetragonal;
- monoclinic;
- trigonal;
- triclinic.
These compounds are classified according to chemical composition defining substance.
Types of minerals
The following classification can be given, which reflects the main part of the composition of the mineral.
In addition to the above groups, there are also organic compounds that form whole natural deposits. For example, peat, coal, urkit, calcium oxalates, iron and others. As well as several carbides, silicides, phosphides, nitrides.
native elements
These are minerals (the photo can be seen below), which are formed by simple substances. For example:
Often these substances occur in the form of large aggregations with other minerals, pieces of rocks and ores. Extraction and their use in industry are important for humans. They are the basis, the raw material for obtaining materials, from which a variety of household items, structures, jewelry, appliances, etc. are subsequently made.
Phosphates, arsenates, vanadates
This group includes rocks and minerals that are predominantly of exogenous origin, that is, they are found in the outer layers of the earth's crust. Only phosphates are formed inside. There are actually quite a lot of salts of phosphoric, arsenic and vanadic acids. However, if we consider the overall picture, then in general their percentage in the bark is small.
There are several of the most common crystals that belong to this group:
- apatite;
- vivianite;
- lindakerite;
- rosenite;
- carnotite;
- paskoit.
As already noted, these minerals form rocks of a rather impressive size.
Oxides and hydroxides
This group of minerals includes all oxides, both simple and complex, which are formed by metals, non-metals, intermetallic compounds and transition elements. The total percentage of these substances in the earth's crust is 5%. The only exception that applies to silicates, and not to the group under consideration, is silicon oxide SiO 2 with all its varieties.
can lead great amount examples of such minerals, however, we denote the most common:
- Granite.
- Magnetite.
- Hematite.
- Ilmenite.
- Columbite.
- Spinel.
- Lime.
- Gibbsit.
- Romaneshit.
- Holfertite.
- Corundum (ruby, sapphire).
- Bauxite.
Carbonates
This class of minerals includes a fairly large variety of representatives, which are also of great practical importance for humans. So, there are the following subclasses or groups:
- calcite;
- dolomite;
- aragonite;
- malachite;
- soda minerals;
- bastnäsite.
Each subclass includes from several units to dozens of representatives. In total, there are about a hundred different mineral carbonates. The most common of them:
- marble;
- limestone;
- malachite;
- apatite;
- siderite;
- smithsonite;
- magnesite;
- carbonatite and others.
Some are valued as a very common and important building material, others are used to create jewelry, and others are used in technology. However, all are important, and their mining is very active.
silicates
The most diverse group of minerals in terms of external forms and number of representatives. This variation is due to the fact that the silicon atoms underlying their chemical structure are able to combine into different kind structures by coordinating several oxygen atoms around itself. So, the following types of structures can be formed:
- island;
- chain;
- tape;
- leafy.
These minerals, photos of which can be seen in the article, are known to everyone. At least some of them. After all, they include:
- topaz;
- pomegranate;
- chrysoprase;
- rhinestone;
- opal;
- chalcedony and others.
They are used in jewelry, are valued as durable designs for use in technology.
You can also cite as an example minerals whose names are not so well known for ordinary people, not related to mineralogy, but nevertheless they are very important in industry:
- Datonite.
- Olivine.
- Murmanite.
- Chrysocol.
- Eudialyte.
- Beryl.
The bowels of our planet conceal countless treasures - minerals. Their indescribable diversity and beauty have always conquered human hearts. We invite you to admire a selection of these beautiful examples of frozen natural harmony.
1 Opal Veined Petrified Wood
Under certain conditions, fragments of a fallen tree do not rot, but mineralize, turning into real stones of a bizarre shape. This requires hundreds of years and lack of air access to the material, resulting in a unique mineral that resembles fragments of an iced tree, dotted with sparkling inclusions of opal or chalcedony.
2. Uvarovit
Discovered in the 19th century in Siberia, a stone related to garnets was nicknamed by the people "Ural emerald". bewitching green color imparts chromium to the mineral. In nature, it is extremely rare, and a few finds are of very modest size. By the way, it was this mineral that Alexander Kuprin meant in his work “Garnet Bracelet.”
3. Fluorite
This mineral, which has long been used for decorative purposes and delighted the views of high society with graceful translucent vases and figurines glowing in the dark, has now found a more applied application in optics, becoming an excellent material for creating lenses.
4. Kemmererite
A very fragile fuchsia-colored stone - kemmererite - is considered a collector's item. To make a piece of jewelry out of it, the master needs to apply all his scrupulousness and precision. For this reason, the cost of the processed mineral is extremely high.
5. Hematite, rutile and feldspar
The ability of the black mineral hematite, when processed, to color water in a blood-red color has caused many ineradicable superstitions regarding this stone. But it is popular not only for this reason - hematite is very common in nature and is used in addition to decorative in many applied areas.
6. Thorbernite
As bewitchingly beautiful this mineral is, it is just as deadly. Prisms of torbernite crystals contain uranium and can cause cancer in humans. In addition, when heated, these stones begin to slowly emit the most dangerous gas, radon.
7. Clinoclase
A rare clinoclase crystal has one small secret - when heated, this exquisitely beautiful mineral emits a garlic smell.
8. White barite studded with vanadinite crystals
Vanadinite got its name in honor of the Scandinavian goddess of beauty Vanadis. This mineral is one of the heaviest on the planet due to its high lead content. Keep vanadinite crystals away from sunlight, as they tend to darken under their influence.
9 Fossil Egg? No - opal core geode
In places rich in minerals, you can find geodes - geological formations, which are cavities that conceal various minerals inside. On cuts and chips, geodes can look extremely outlandish and attractive.
10. Silver stibnite with barite
Stibnite is an antimony sulfide, but appears to be high grade silver. Thanks to this similarity, one day someone decided to make elite cutlery from this material. And it was a very bad idea… Antimony crystals cause severe poisoning, even after contact with the skin it is necessary to wash it thoroughly with soap.
11. Chalcanthite
The enchanting beauty of these crystals hides a mortal danger: once in a liquid environment, the copper contained in this mineral begins to rapidly dissolve, threatening all living things that get in its way. Just one small blue pebble is capable of destroying an entire pond with all its flora and fauna, so you should be extremely careful with it.
12. Cacoxenite
Acting as an inclusion, this rare mineral is able to give quartz and amethyst a unique color and higher value. As a representative of needle-like crystals, cacoxenite is incredibly fragile.
13. Labradorite
Mined in the northern regions, the mineral seems to reflect the sky under which it was found: colored overflows against the background of the darkness of the stone dotted with sparkling stars resemble the northern lights blazing on a long polar night.
14. Black Opal
The most valuable variety of opals. Despite the word "black" in the name, this mineral gets the highest value if it has a multi-colored sparkle against a dark background. The more varied the shades of its radiance, the higher the price.
15. Kuprosklodovskite
Needle-like crystals of kuprosklodovskite attract admiring attention with the depth and variety of their green coloring, as well as their interesting shape. However, this mineral is mined in uranium deposits and is highly radioactive and should be kept away not only from living beings, but even from other minerals.
16. Blue halite and sylvite
Milky white or whitish sylvite is often found in volcanoes, and blue halite (sodium chloride) is often found in sedimentary rocks.
17. Bismuth
Artificially grown crystals have a recognizable iridescent sheen on their dark surface. This effect occurs due to the oxide film covering it. By the way, bismuth chloride is used in the creation of nail polishes as a means to give them shine.
18. Opal
Noble gem Opal is picky about the humidity around it: if it stays in excessively dry conditions for a long time, it can fade and even crack. For this reason, opals should occasionally be "bathed" in clean water, and also worn more often if they are presented in the form of jewelry, so that the stones are saturated with moisture emanating from the human body.
19. Tourmaline
Juicy reds and pinks, smooth transitions shades with the most unexpected ranges make tourmaline one of the most popular collectible minerals. According to historians, it was these stones that crowned many decorations and accessories of members of royal families and eminent persons: from Catherine II to Tamerlane.
20. Baildonite
The rare baildonite crystal owes its color to the copper contained in its composition, and its brilliance to a high percentage of lead.
21. Osmium
Having the status of the densest natural substance, osmium is extremely difficult to process. The widespread use of this metal in medicine, manufacturing and the defense industry makes the demand for it incredibly high. And given the rarity of osmium in nature, the cost of one gram of its isotope is currently twenty thousand dollars.
22. Malachite
The whimsical arrangement of copper layers in the voids of karst caves, where malachite is born, determines the future structure of its patterns. They can be represented by concentric circles, star-shaped placers or chaotic ribbon patterns. The age of malachite beads found in the ancient city of Jericho is determined by archaeologists to be 9,000 years old.
23. Emmonsite
A rather rare mineral emmonsite, presented in the form of small needle-like crystals with a glassy sheen, is found in the mines of North and South America.
24. Aquamarine on potassium mica
For the similarity of the edges to the purest sea waves, the Roman thinker Pliny the Elder gave this noble stone the name "aquamarine". More blue aquamarines are valued more than greenish ones. This mineral is very popular among designers and jewelry lovers, and its highest strength helps to create jewelry of any configuration.
25. Pallasite meteorite
In 1777, the German scientist Pallas delivered to the Kunstkamera Museum samples of a rare metal found in Krasnoyarsk at the site of a meteorite fall. Soon, the entire block of extraterrestrial origin weighing 687 kg was transported to St. Petersburg. This material was called "pallas iron" or pallasite. A similar substance from those that are mined on our planet has not been found. According to experts, this meteorite is an iron-nickel base with numerous inclusions of olivine crystals.
26. Sick
small cubic crystals of blue color- boleites - are especially valued in the countries of South and North America. So far, this rare mineral has not been seen in circulation in Russia.
27. Crocoite
The name "crocoite" comes from the ancient Greek word meaning "saffron", since the similarity of the crystal surface with this spice is noticeable to the naked eye. The red lead ore, which this mineral is, is of particular value to collectors and connoisseurs.
The bowels of our planet conceal countless treasures - minerals. Their indescribable diversity and beauty have always conquered human hearts. I propose to admire a selection of these beautiful examples of frozen natural harmony.
1 Opal Veined Petrified Wood
Under certain conditions, fragments of a fallen tree do not rot, but mineralize, turning into real stones of a bizarre shape. This requires hundreds of years and lack of air access to the material, resulting in a unique mineral that resembles fragments of an iced tree, dotted with sparkling inclusions of opal or chalcedony.
2. Uvarovite
Discovered in the 19th century in Siberia, a stone related to garnets was nicknamed by the people "Ural emerald". Chromium gives the mineral its bewitching green color. In nature, it is extremely rare, and a few finds are of very modest size. By the way, it was this mineral that Alexander Kuprin meant in his work “Garnet Bracelet.”
3. Fluorite
This mineral, which has long been used for decorative purposes and delighted the views of high society with graceful translucent vases and figurines glowing in the dark, has now found a more applied application in optics, becoming an excellent material for creating lenses.
4. Kemmererite
A very fragile fuchsia-colored stone - kemmererite - is considered a collector's item. To make a piece of jewelry out of it, the master needs to apply all his scrupulousness and precision. For this reason, the cost of the processed mineral is extremely high.
5. Hematite, rutile and feldspar
The ability of the black mineral hematite, when processed, to color water in a blood-red color has caused many ineradicable superstitions regarding this stone. But it is popular not only because of this - hematite is very common in nature and is used in addition to decorative in many applied areas.
6. Thorbernite
As bewitchingly beautiful this mineral is, it is just as deadly. Prisms of torbernite crystals contain uranium and can cause cancer in humans. In addition, when heated, these stones begin to slowly emit the most dangerous gas, radon.
7. Clinoclase
A rare clinoclase crystal has one small secret - when heated, this exquisitely beautiful mineral emits a garlic smell.
8. White barite studded with vanadinite crystals
Vanadinite got its name in honor of the Scandinavian goddess of beauty Vanadis. This mineral is one of the heaviest on the planet due to its high lead content. Keep vanadinite crystals away from sunlight, as they tend to darken under their influence.
9. Fossil egg? No - opal core geode
In places rich in minerals, you can find geodes - geological formations, which are cavities that melt inside a variety of minerals. On cuts and chips, geodes can look extremely outlandish and attractive.
10. Silver stibnite with barite
Stibnite is an antimony sulfide, but appears to be high grade silver. Thanks to this similarity, one day someone decided to make elite cutlery from this material. And it was a very bad idea… Antimony crystals cause severe poisoning, even after contact with the skin it is necessary to wash it thoroughly with soap.
11. chalcanthite
The enchanting beauty of these crystals hides a mortal danger: once in a liquid environment, the copper contained in this mineral begins to rapidly dissolve, threatening all living things that get in its way. Just one small blue pebble is capable of destroying an entire pond with all its flora and fauna, so you should be extremely careful with it.
12. Cacoxenite
Acting as an inclusion, this rare mineral is able to give quartz and amethyst a unique color and higher value. As a representative of needle-like crystals, cacoxenite is incredibly fragile.
13. labradorite
Mined in the northern regions, the mineral seems to reflect the sky under which it was found: colored overflows against the background of the darkness of the stone dotted with sparkling stars resemble the northern lights blazing on a long polar night.
14. black opal
The most valuable variety of opals. Despite the word "black" in the name, this mineral gets the highest value if it has a multi-colored sparkle against a dark background. The more diverse the shades of its radiance, the higher the price.
15. Kuprosklodovskite
Needle-like crystals of kuprosklodovskite attract admiring attention with the depth and variety of their green coloring, as well as their interesting shape. However, this mineral is mined in uranium deposits and is highly radioactive and should be kept away not only from living beings, but even from other minerals.
16. Blue halite and sylvite
Milky white or whitish sylvite is often found in volcanoes, and blue halite (sodium chloride) is often found in sedimentary rocks.
17. Bismuth
Artificially grown bismuth crystals have a recognizable iridescent sheen on their dark surface. This effect occurs due to the oxide film covering it. By the way, bismuth oxide-chloride is used in the creation of nail polishes as a means to give them shine.
The noble gemstone opal is demanding on the humidity surrounding it: if it stays in excessively dry conditions for a long time, it can fade and even crack. For this reason, opals should occasionally be "bathed" in clean water, and also worn more often if they are presented in the form of jewelry, so that the stones are saturated with moisture emanating from the human body.
19. Tourmaline
Juicy red and pink colors, smooth transitions of shades with the most unexpected ranges make tourmaline one of the most popular collectible minerals. According to historians, it was these stones that crowned many decorations and accessories of members of royal families and eminent persons: from Catherine II to Tamerlane.
20. Baildonite
The rare baildonite crystal owes its color to the copper contained in its composition, and its brilliance to a high percentage of lead.
21. Osmium
Having the status of the densest natural substance, osmium is extremely difficult to process. The widespread use of this metal in medicine, manufacturing and the defense industry makes the demand for it incredibly high. And given the rarity of osmium in nature, the cost of one gram of its isotope is currently twenty thousand dollars.
22. Malachite
The whimsical arrangement of copper layers in the voids of karst caves, where malachite is born, determines the future structure of its patterns. They can be represented by concentric circles, star-shaped placers or chaotic ribbon patterns. The age of malachite beads found in the ancient city of Jericho is determined by archaeologists to be 9,000 years old.
VERMICULITE
The tale of the Great Poloz in the masterful interpretation of Pavel Bazhov, other references to a huge snake, supposedly pointing to a gold deposit, are based on the superstitions of the ancient Khanty and Mansi, Ural legends and signs of miners and miners. The belief of local residents that a wondrous treasure is hidden in the mountain, but some otherworldly forces guard it - this is what served as the folklore basis of the wonderful Bazhov tales.
But there is also scientific explanation the existence of the Great Poloz. Mineral vermiculite- This is a scaly clay mica of golden yellow or bronze-yellow color, which is quite widespread in the Urals and Siberia. Vermiculite has an interesting property: when heated, it swells strongly.
Pieces of vermiculite placed in a fire, swollen, resemble golden Christmas balls amazingly beautiful and light. Unfortunately, heated vermiculite is not stable - a light touch or even a gust of wind is enough, and the ball crumbles into tiny flakes, literally turning into dust.
Lamellar vermiculite sometimes in the process of swelling takes the form not of a ball, but of a large (20-30 times larger than before heating) wriggling column (worm, snake). During this process, a slight crackle is heard. Now imagine how a Mansi hunter, sitting in the deaf Siberian taiga near a fire, sees: a huge snake crawls out of the fire, wriggling, with a crash.
Here, probably, even a modern tourist would feel uncomfortable. And if subsequently placer or native gold was found not far from this terrible place (and, as you know, it is found both in Siberia and the Urals), then most likely this fact was overgrown with legends and superstitions.
POISONOUS CINNEAR
At the beginning of the 19th century, a young Russian artist died under unclear circumstances in the Aktash tract in the Altai Mountains. Delusional, incoherent speech, convulsions, epileptic seizures - these are the symptoms of the disease that preceded death. The oral cavity of the deceased was a strange copper-red color...
The paintings left after the death of the artist suggested a serious mental illness of their creator. The opinion of the highlanders, local residents, was unanimous: the deceased visited a place forbidden for mortals - the Lake of Mountain Spirits. And the spirits took revenge on the daredevil.
A hundred years later, a remarkable geologist, paleontologist, ethnographer and writer Ivan Efremov visited these lands. He learned about the death of the artist and about the spirits, the forces of evil guarding the lake. Then a young writer carefully studied all these reports, in fact, already the legends of the past century, and then undertook a trip to the forbidden area. Soon, Efremov published a short story about this lake and the tragically deceased artist. The story was published in a collection dedicated to adventure and fantasy, and therefore was not taken seriously by specialists. But in vain.
Powerful thermal phenomena are observed in the area of the Aktash basin, and the rocks themselves are composed of the mineral cinnabar. Cinnabar, a frighteningly red mineral, contains up to 86% mercury. Heated by the summer sun from above, hot springs from below, cinnabar begins to release mercury in the form of vapor (in chemistry, this phenomenon is called sublimation).
Then the mercury vapor condenses and settles in patches of a heavy silver-lead color. The accumulation of these spots was taken for the mysterious Lake of Mountain Spirits. Everything else is the toxic effect of mercury vapor on the human body.
In the Middle Ages and in the late 1700s, being sent to work in the Spanish mines containing cinnabar formations was considered almost a death sentence. Cinnabar has been used extensively in Chinese history to make decorative dishes for food, and pieces of it have also been made into oddly shaped carvings, sometimes at the expense of the artisans' lives. Even more incredible is that some of the ancient physicians believed that cinnabar contained healing properties, and prescribed it for the treatment of certain diseases.
OIL... IN STONE
Geodes- crystalline nodules-minerals with a cavity in the center - are highly valued by stone collectors, since quite beautiful formations are often found inside them.
But whatever crystals are found in the cores of gray geodes, they are overshadowed by the second component: fetid balls of crude oil and tar. Oil-bearing geodes, of course, have no economic value. But on the other hand, they baffle geologists, who are not yet able to explain this mineralogical phenomenon.
Geodes are formed by minerals crystallizing in closed cavities rock. They grow inwards, and their hollow core is thought to be hermetically sealed from the environment. Oil and tar, for their part, are formed from organic matter at high pressures and temperatures.
But, as geology teaches, these two processes do not occur simultaneously. But, nevertheless, geodes still exist. It was they, according to scientists, who collected and contained oil from the environment.
FLEXIBLE STONES
Although the stones are usually considered a symbol of inflexible hardness, some rocks are nevertheless so pliable that a thin strip cut from them sags under its own weight.
The most common of these stones is a specific type of sandstone called itacolumite. Its name comes from Italokumi, a mountain in Brazil where this stone is found in large quantities. It is also found in the Ural Mountains and in India.
It is believed that the stones bend due to the cavities that exist between the grains of sand. It is this structure that allows italokumite to show a special flexibility that is not characteristic of most stones.
CRYSTAL CROSS
A stone cross growing from the ground was noticed by the population of the Belarusian city of Turov a long time ago. Exactly when, no one remembers. At first, they noticed a small cobblestone, tried to lift it, but could not. Leave the stone alone. A few years later, it was discovered that it had risen several centimeters above the ground and had the shape of a cross, unusual for a simple field stone.
Of course, the amazing stone attracted the attention of Orthodox people, who saw in it a supernatural sign. And soon the Borisovo-Glebsky cemetery became a place of pilgrimage.
However, there is nothing unusual in the Turov stone. The fact is that an opaque, reddish mineral acquires the shape of a cross. staurolite. And if it were not for the tendency of the crystals of this mineral to take on cruciform shapes, non-specialists would hardly have paid attention to it.
Similar stones are found in many places. And wherever they were found, legends followed them everywhere. So, in the north-west of France they say that these stones fell from heaven. In the US state of Virginia, they are called sorceress stones.
The name of the mineral comes from the Greek word "stavros", that is, "cross".
JEWISH STONE
In the century before last, in the Urals, in the Ilmensky mountains, one of the scientists discovered mysterious stone. On a relatively smooth plate the size of a plate, he saw mysterious writing. The inscription on the stone was surprisingly similar to the Hebrew. Individual letters were easy to guess. They could even be folded into syllables.
Did Jews inhabit the Urals in the distant past? Science has established with indisputable accuracy that the Hebrew tribes inhabited Syria, Babylon and other areas of the Middle East. It seemed to scientists that they had made the greatest discovery. Only, however, it was not possible to decipher the inscription on the stone. Some of the squiggles looked like letters, but most of them didn't look like anything.
The news of the discovery of scientists in the Urals became known to many. Attempts to decipher the mysterious letters did not stop, although they did not give the desired result.
But then another miracle happened: many, many stones with "Hebrew" inscriptions were found in the Urals. Some of these inscriptions were inscribed large print, on others - in surprisingly small, beaded handwriting. But neither one nor the other could be deciphered.
Scientists-chemists examined the stones in the laboratory. It was granite in composition. The stone was called "written granite"(scientific name graphic pegmatite) because of the clear inscriptions on it. They also call it a Jewish stone, because it seems to everyone that the writing on it is of Hebrew origin.
The answer to written granite was given not by philologists, not by chemists, but by mineralogists. The strange stone was studied very carefully by academician Alexander Evgenievich Fersman. He, like other scientists, was initially struck by the fact that the mysterious inscriptions were applied not only to the surface of the stone, but also go deep into it. And if written granite is cut, then the letters will be equally well visible both on the upper and on the lower side.
To learn the secret of written granite, I had to delve not only into those distant times when the ancient Hebrew tribes lived, but also those prehistoric eras when the earth was being formed and when molten magma pierced the earth's thickness here and there.
It was then, probably, that quartz played its joke. It penetrated into the mass of light and greenish feldspar in millions of thin dark gray streams and froze together with the spar. If we now cut written granite along the frozen streams of gray quartz, these streams will look like sticks as thick as a match or a pencil. And with a transverse fracture, the streams of quartz look like the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. And what is surprising: often these letters go in even lines, as if a human hand really brought them out!
The mystery of quartz is solved. But even now people are looking with unflagging curiosity at the amazing "writing" of the so-called Jewish stone.
PERLITE - FLOATING STONE
It turns out that there are stones in nature that do not sink in water. It is perlite, a heavy volcanic glass. But he acquires his unusual properties after he is calcined on fire. After that, it becomes like a loose gray mass, resembling a frozen foam.
The word "pearl" means pearl. Perlite really looks like pearls. Its color is bluish-gray with a small silvery tint.
This stone is found where volcanoes have been active for a very long time. It was the red-hot lava of volcanoes that fused the sand lying on the surface into huge blocks. In Buryatia, for example, they found a layer of perlite thirty meters thick. This layer of "pearl stone" is not deep, but stretches for tens of kilometers. The hot lava of a long-vanished volcano spread so widely here.
Of course, it is curious to throw a piece of perlite into a fire and watch how it begins to crack and swell from heating, like dough. From strong heat, perlite increases in volume by ten to fifteen times. Pieces of it really become so light that they do not sink.
TEMPORARY MINERALS
In the deserts you can sometimes see an amazing sight. Here is how the famous Soviet scientist Academician A.E. Fersman describes it:
“Here, in the wild conditions of the Karakum, I had to meet with an absolutely fantastic appearance of salts. After a heavy night rain, in the morning the clay surfaces of the shors are suddenly covered with a continuous snow cover of salts - they grow in the form of twigs, needles and films, rustle underfoot .... But this continues only until noon, - a hot desert wind rises, and its gusts blow for several hours, salt flowers.
However, the most wonderful stone flowers appear in the polar regions. Let us turn again to A.E. Fersman.
“Here, during six cold months,” the academician writes, “mineralogist P. L. Dravert observed remarkable formations in the salt brines of Yakutia. In cold salt springs, the temperature of which dropped 25 degrees below zero, large hexagonal crystals of the rare mineral hydrohalite appeared on the walls. By spring, they crumbled into a powder of simple table salt, and by winter they began to grow again.
It turns out that there are minerals in nature that can change their appearance within just one year. They are called periodic.
MOSS MINERALS
Sometimes, when splitting layered rocks, mineralogists find special formations in them, called dendrites for their external resemblance to plants. They are a collection of the thinnest and most delicate twigs: yellow, red or black. Often they are several tones at the same time, and grow as if from one root.
copper dendrites
This special type of minerals is formed either in very narrow cracks between two layers of rock, or in a medium that has not yet completely petrified a jelly-like substance into which ferruginous solutions have fallen.
In the famous "moss agates" of India, such branches of green, brown and red substances form whole complex and intricate forests, thickets of herbs, bushes, trees. Now we know that they were formed because the agate substance once, during the solidification of the molten lavas of India, was a liquid mass in which these dendrites grew.
This mineral carries an amazing story. Rob Lavinsky of the Arkenstone brought this unique mineral to the market and wanted to sell it for $5,000. The sample that Lavinsky decided to sell, according to him, is Chalcedony from chrysocolla stalactites, measuring 9 x 7 x 6 cm. This mineral was originally found by Frank Valenzuela back in the 1960s in a mine in Arizona,. 
This mineral is a quartz rock covered with chrysocolla stalactites. It is amazing in that part of it glows when the lights are off, 
A mineral is a naturally occurring substance that is solid and stable at room temperature. Chalcedony is a cryptocrystalline form of silica, consisting of very fine intergrowths of the minerals quartz and morganite. The standard chemical structure of Calcedonia (based on the chemical structure of quartz) is SiO2 (silicon dioxide). Calcedonium has a waxy sheen and may be translucent or transparent. It can come in a wide range of colors, but they are most often found in whites, greys, and blue-greys. 
