/sci/ - Science & Math

>>11313690
That's a pretty cool crystal

>>11313772
no u

>>11313690
I think hopper-like bismuth crystals are lab grown. I'd like to learn about making them desu.

Some caves have big cubic pyrite crystals, they look pretty cool.

Labradorite is cool too. The iridescence is pretty noticeable, even on small rocks.

Looking cool, random stone.

>>11314019
Had found some of those lying around in a cave I once visited, kept them with me

>>11314049
I love the black opal desu, it just looks so fake

>>11313690
I like hard stuff

Have you guys ever licked stones to see what they taste like?

>>11314019
>desu

>>11314593
yes

cool thread gonna dump some random unnamed minerals (unnamed as in idk what they are)
>>11314239
yeah black opals are some of the coolest fucking gems
both flamboyant and edgy at the same time

>>11314019
the trickiest part in making those big bizmuth crystals is temperature controll
basically you take small piece of existing crystal clean it to remove any resudual dyst and hold it at the top of vat of molten bismuth that's very close to it's freezing temp
then you cool it very slowly

>>11314600
What did it taste like?

>>11314653
either like nothing, or like iron

>>11314632
pretty much yes.

>>11314049
why is it called Labrador-ite

>>11313690
fuck stones lol

>>11315005
It's common on Labrador, Canada.

>>11315077
understandable, have a nice day

selenite is really cool, it's like a fiber optic cable

>>11315132
that's the one that splits light passing trough into two images right?
are there any other minerals with cool potical properties?
like giving light spiral polarisation or something

>>11315167
i think that really depends on the cut of the stone, but wouldn't really know desu

>>11314632
Selenite
>>11314641
Fluorite
>>11314642
?
>>11314645
Tanzanite
>>11314648
Benitoite
>>11314658
Beryl var. Aquamarine

>>11315167
There's some like >>11314645
that are pleochroic, which are different colors depending on which side the light passes through.

>>11315167
Calcite is the one that splits light into 2.

>>11314239
its ammorph -> DONT LIKE

>>11315073
fuck you they rock

>>11315167
see pic Calcite

>>11317332
ammorph > anything else

>>11318299
Your dubs proof nothing. Imagine wanting to be like a chad quartz but you are simply shit.
Opals are the trannies of mineralogy

>>11317332
>>11318299
It's not truly amorphous though. It's an ordered array of silica micro spheres.

>>11313690
>>11314019
>>11314049
>>11314239
>>11314641
>>11314645
>>11314658
>>11314648
>>11318299
Any one of these would make a better Arkenstone than that gay-ass CGI thing in the Hobbit movie.

Tell me this wasn't underwhelming.

>>11318941
only literal subhumans watch hollywood flicks

>>11318941
What you don't like glowing skipping stones?

>>11314049
Labradorite is one of my favorites.

>>11313690
That's not a fucking stone OP, its elemental Bismuth

>>11314049
Reminds me of my childhood.

>>11314641
>>11314019

I have grown many that are very large in size. The real secret is to insulate and let the metal "settle" proper before it crystallizes so that it has less forces destroying the newly formed crystals. This also means that volume of material will matter. You'll need at least 30-50 pounds if you want some really nice large looking crystals. Invest in a sturdy pot that can bear that weight too, otherwise disaster awaits you.
I purposefully heat it about 50-100 degrees higher (under a fume hood of course) before I scoop the slag then pour into a new clean container. The container it cools in is a wider metal bowl insulated with ceramic wool from all sides especially the top. I place all of this on the solid concrete floor in my garage and let it sit for 10-30 minutes, never disturbing it. After a crust forms on the top you can poke at it to see if it's a separate crystal or solid.
Pic related is the bottom of the bowl that hardened. Sometimes you can get nice "geodes" like that too.

>>11318993
In crystal form. "Bismuth crystals".

>>11318993
It's a solid mass of a mineral species, a rock.

>Literally so edgy that its fibers give you cancer through mechanical means
Is there a bigger dick in the mineral world?

>>11313690

>>11319194
the spicy rock

>>11318743
that still makes it ammorph. By itself opal has no internal crystal sturcture. Thats why its called a Mineraloid, because it is no mineral