- The atoms of some minerals
can be energized with ultraviolet light. These atoms then return to
their original state and emit visible light. We can not see the
ultraviolet light but we can see the emitted light. We call this
fluorescence. Scheelite prospectors look for a distinctive blue-white
fluorescence. Some atoms hold this extra energy for some time before
emitting visible light. We call this phosphorescence. This is the
property that makes watch numbers glow in the dark.
- When cut correctly, some
minerals from stars and "cat's eyes." This is due to very small fibers
of another mineral within the main mineral. Or, it may also be due to
very small tube-like holes in the mineral. The stars and cat's eyes
appear to be deep with in the mineral but are actually on the surface. A
good star makes rubies and sapphires very expensive.
- Like worms? Heat
stilbite or zoisite and watch "worms" grow.
- Prospectors beware!
Almost every prospector, early in his career, saw small flakes of gold shining
in the sands of streams or flashing in swirling mountain rives. After
digging some flakes out of the sand, or capturing them from the water, he was
chagrined to find that they wern't gold at all, but biotite mica, one of the
"fools gold" minerals. Actually, real gold hardly ever flashes in
nature. If you see a golden flash, it almost certainly isn't real gold!
- Two distinct minerals are
called "jade." One is the mineral jadeite and the other is a form of
actinolite called "nephrite." Both of these minerals look similar and
have similar properties. One interesting property is that ordinarily in
nature, neither one has the characteristic green color we associate with jade.
when you find jade, it normally has a dull white or gray surface. Only
after you cut into it a quarter inch or so do you see the real color.
- Is it red or blue? A
certain type of chrysoberyl, called alexanderite, is blue in the daytime but
red at night. This is because it appears blue in short wave light like
sunshine, but turns red in the long wave incandescent light we use at night.
- Diamonds are the hardest
substance known. While diamonds are only one number higher on the Mohs
hardness scale than corundum (diamond is 10, corundum is 9), the absolute
hardness of diamonds is over 100 times that of corundum!
- Diamonds have been found in
almost every state of the union. However, they have been found in situ
only in kimberlite pipes and lamproite dikes. In the early part of the
20th century, the USGS found some kimberlite pipes in Wyoming. They
reported that the pipes contained no diamonds. Years later, a graduate
student borrowed the samples and immediately found diamonds. The USGS
considered diamonds so rare that they felt examining the kimberlite specimens
would be a waste of time! (After the graduate student reported finding
diamonds, two successful diamond mines were established in Wyoming.)
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Last modified:
02/24/04