View allAll Photos Tagged Naturally
Playing catchup! Going back to photos I took in June :P
I can only take these photos in the morning when we get strong sunlight through the bedroom windows.
A mineral is a naturally-occurring, solid, inorganic, crystalline substance having a fairly definite chemical composition and having fairly definite physical properties. At its simplest, a mineral is a naturally-occurring solid chemical. Currently, there are over 6000 named and described minerals - about 200 of them are common and about 20 of them are very common. Mineral classification is based on anion chemistry. Major categories of minerals are: elements, sulfides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, phosphates, and silicates.
The silicates are the most abundant and chemically complex group of minerals. All silicates have silica as the basis for their chemistry. "Silica" refers to SiO2 chemistry. The fundamental molecular unit of silica is one small silicon atom surrounded by four large oxygen atoms in the shape of a triangular pyramid - this is the silica tetrahedron - SiO4. Each oxygen atom is shared by two silicon atoms, so only half of the four oxygens "belong" to each silicon. The resulting formula for silica is thus SiO2, not SiO4.
The simplest & most abundant silicate mineral in the Earth's crust is quartz (SiO2). All other silicates have silica + impurities. Many silicates have a significant percentage of aluminum (the aluminosilicates).
Quartz (silicon dioxide/silica - SiO2) is the most common mineral in the Earth's crust. It is composed of the two most abundant elements in the crust - oxygen and silicon. It has a glassy, nonmetallic luster, is commonly clearish to whitish to grayish in color, has a white streak, is quite hard (H≡7), forms hexagonal crystals, has no cleavage, and has conchoidal fracture. Quartz can be any color: clear, white, gray, black, brown, pink, red, purple, blue, green, orange, etc.
The pink coloration of rose quartz has been attributed to the presence of Ti+4 impurity or the presence of dumortierite-like fibers. Some rose quartz coloration has been attributed to radiation bombardment of quartz having Al and P impurities.
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Photo gallery of quartz and rose quartz:
www.mindat.org/gallery.php?min=3337
and
I had this show at Half and Half that was all about how I romanticize the Northwest and how easy it is to do through beer advertising. It was really wonderful.
The meaning behind the name of this picture comes from the fact that i did nothing to this leaf or the snow for this shot. I was walking around outside and happened to see this leaf sticking out of the snow. Odd sight right? I thought so, and i wanted to share my odd finding with you all! :)
London, Ohio