Mineralogy
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Mineralogy
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization. History Early writing on mineralogy, especially on gemstones, comes from ancient Babylonia, the ancient Greco-Roman world, ancient and medieval History of China, China, and Sanskrit texts from History of India, ancient India and the ancient Islamic world. Books on the subject included the ''Naturalis Historia, Natural History'' of Pliny the Elder, which not only described many different minerals but also explained many of their properties, and Kitab al Jawahir (Book of Precious Stones) by Persian scientist Al-Biruni. The German Renaissance specialist Georgius Agricola ...
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Mineralogy Between Its Other Sciences Around
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization. History Early writing on mineralogy, especially on gemstones, comes from ancient Babylonia, the ancient Greco-Roman world, ancient and medieval China, and Sanskrit texts from ancient India and the ancient Islamic world. Books on the subject included the '' Natural History'' of Pliny the Elder, which not only described many different minerals but also explained many of their properties, and Kitab al Jawahir (Book of Precious Stones) by Persian scientist Al-Biruni. The German Renaissance specialist Georgius Agricola wrote works such as '' De re metallica'' (''On Metals'', 1556) and '' De Natura Fossilium' ...
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Mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Minerals'; p. 1. In the series ''Geology: Landforms, Minerals, and Rocks''. Rosen Publishing Group. The Geology, geological definition of mineral normally excludes compounds that occur only in living organisms. However, some minerals are often biogenic (such as calcite) or organic compounds in the sense of chemistry (such as mellite). Moreover, living organisms often synthesize inorganic minerals (such as hydroxylapatite) that also occur in rocks. The concept of mineral is distinct from rock (geology), rock, which is any bulk solid geologic material that is relatively homogeneous at a large enough scale. A rock may consist of one type of mineral or may be an aggregate (geology), aggregate of two or more different types of minerals, spaci ...
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Moon Mineralogy Mapper Left
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It orbits around Earth at an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth's diameter). The Moon rotates, with a rotation period (lunar day) that is synchronized to its orbital period (lunar month) of 29.5 Earth days. This is the product of Earth's gravitation having tidally pulled on the Moon until one part of it stopped rotating away from the near side, making always the same lunar surface face Earth. Conversley, the gravitational pull of the Moon, on Earth, is the main driver of Earth's tides. In geophysical terms, the Moon is a planetary-mass object or satellite planet. Its mass is 1.2% that of the Earth, and its diameter is , roughly one-quarter of Earth's (about as wide as the contiguous United States). Within the Solar System, it is the largest and most massive satellite in relation to its parent planet, the fifth-largest and fifth-most massive moon overall, and larger and more massive than all known dwarf planets. ...
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Law Of Rational Indices
The law of rational indices is an Empirical research, empirical law in the field of crystallography concerning crystal structure. The law states that "when referred to three intersecting axes all faces occurring on a crystal can be described by numerical indices which are integers, and that these integers are usually small numbers." The law is also named the ''law of rational intercepts'' or the ''second law of crystallography''. Definition The International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) gives the following definition: "The law of rational indices states that the intercepts, ''OP'', ''OQ'', ''OR'', of the natural faces of a crystal form with the unit-cell axes a, b, c are inversely proportional to prime integers, , , . They are called the Miller index, Miller indices of the face. They are usually small because the corresponding lattice planes are among the densest and have therefore a high interplanar spacing and low indices." History The law of constancy of interfacial ang ...
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Law Of Constancy Of Interfacial Angles
The law of constancy of interfacial angles (; ) is an Empirical research, empirical law in the fields of crystallography and mineralogy concerning the shape, or morphology, of crystals. The law states that the angles between adjacent corresponding faces of crystals of a particular substance are always constant despite the different shapes, sizes, and mode of growth of crystals. The law is also named the ''first law of crystallography'' or ''Nicolas Steno, Steno's law''. Definition The International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) gives the following definition: "The law of the constancy of interfacial angles (or 'first law of crystallography') states that the angles between the crystal faces of a given species are constant, whatever the lateral extension of these faces and the origin of the crystal, and are characteristic of that species." The law is valid at constant temperature and pressure. This law is important in identifying different mineral species as small changes in at ...
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René Just Haüy
René Just Haüy () FRS MWS FRSE (28 February 1743 – 1 June 1822) was a French priest and mineralogist, commonly styled the Abbé Haüy after he was made an honorary canon of Notre-Dame de Paris, Notre Dame. Due to his innovative work on crystal structure and his four-volume ''Traité de Minéralogie'' (1801), he is often referred to as the "Father of Modern Crystallography". During the French Revolution he also helped to establish the metric system. Biography Early life René-Just Haüy was born at Saint-Just-en-Chaussée on February 28, 1743, in the Provinces of France, province of Picardy (later the ''département in France, département'' of Oise). His parents were Just Haüy, a poor linen-weaver, and his wife Magdeleine Candelot. Haüy's interest in the services and music of the local church brought him to the attention of the Prior (ecclesiastical), prior of a nearby abbey of Premonstratensians, Premonstrants. Through him, Haüy was introduced to a colleague in Paris ...
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Optical Mineralogy
Optical mineralogy is the study of minerals and Rock (geology), rocks by measuring their optics, optical properties. Most commonly, rock and mineral samples are prepared as thin sections or grain mounts for study in the laboratory with a petrographic microscope. Optical mineralogy is used to identify the mineralogical composition of geological materials in order to help reveal their origin and evolution. Some of the properties and techniques used include: * Refractive index * Birefringence * Auguste Michel-Lévy, Michel-Lévy Interference colour chart * Pleochroism * Extinction angle * Conoscopic interference pattern (Interference figure) * Becke line test * Optical relief * Sign of elongation (Length fast vs. length slow) * Wave plate History William Nicol (inventor), William Nicol, whose name is associated with the creation of the Nicol prism, is likely the first to prepare thin slices of mineral substances, and his methods were applied by Henry Thronton Maire Witham (1831) t ...
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Georgius Agricola
Georgius Agricola (; born Georg Bauer; 24 March 1494 – 21 November 1555) was a German Humanist scholar, mineralogist and metallurgist. Born in the small town of Glauchau, in the Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Empire, he was broadly educated, but took a particular interest in the mining and refining of metals. He was the first to drop the Arabic definite article ''al-'', exclusively writing ''chymia'' and ''chymista'' in describing activity that we today would characterize as chemical or alchemical, giving chemistry its modern name. For his groundbreaking work '' De Natura Fossilium'' published in 1546, he is generally referred to as the father of mineralogy and the founder of geology as a scientific discipline.Rafferty, John P. (2012). ''Geological Sciences; Geology: Landforms, Minerals, and Rocks''. New York: Britannica Educational Publishing, p. 10. He is well known for his pioneering work '' De re metallica libri XII'', that was published in 1556, one yea ...
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Geology
Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth sciences, including hydrology. It is integrated with Earth system science and planetary science. Geology describes the structure of the Earth on and beneath its surface and the processes that have shaped that structure. Geologists study the mineralogical composition of rocks in order to get insight into their history of formation. Geology determines the relative ages of rocks found at a given location; geochemistry (a branch of geology) determines their absolute ages. By combining various petrological, crystallographic, and paleontological tools, geologists are able to chronicle the geological history of the Earth as a whole. One aspect is to demonstrate the age of the Earth. Geology provides evidence for plate tectonics, the ev ...
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Naturalis Historia
The ''Natural History'' () is a Latin work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. Despite the work's title, its subject area is not limited to what is today understood by natural history; Pliny himself defines his scope as "the natural world, or life". It is encyclopedic in scope, but its structure is not like that of a modern encyclopedia. It is the only work by Pliny to have survived, and the last that he published. He published the first 10 books in AD 77, but had not made a final revision of the remainder at the time of Pliny the Elder#Death, his death during the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, AD 79 eruption of Vesuvius. The rest was published posthumously by Pliny's nephew, Pliny the Younger. The work is divided into 37 books, organised into 10 volumes. These cover topics including astronomy, mathematics, geography, ethn ...
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Al-Biruni
Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (; ; 973after 1050), known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously "Father of Comparative Religion", "Father of modern geodesy", Founder of Indology and the first anthropologist. Al-Biruni was well versed in physics, mathematics, astronomy, and natural sciences, and also distinguished himself as a historian, chronologist, and linguist. He studied almost all the sciences of his day and was rewarded abundantly for his tireless research in many fields of knowledge. Royalty and other powerful elements in society funded al-Biruni's research and sought him out with specific projects in mind. Influential in his own right, al-Biruni was himself influenced by the scholars of other nations, such as the Greeks, from whom he took inspiration when he turned to the study of philosophy. A gifted linguist, he was conversant in Khwarezmian, Persian, Arabic, and Sanskri ...
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Gemstone
A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, and obsidian) and occasionally organic chemistry, organic materials that are not minerals (such as amber, Jet (gemstone), jet, and pearl) may also be used for jewelry and are therefore often considered to be gemstones as well. Most gemstones are hard, but some softer minerals such as brazilianite may be used in jewelry because of their color or Lustre (mineralogy), luster or other physical properties that have aesthetic value. However, generally speaking, soft minerals are not typically used as gemstones by virtue of their brittleness and lack of durability. Found all over the world, the industry of coloured gemstones (i.e. anything other than diamonds) is currently estimated at US$1.55billion and is projected to s ...
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