Huuuuge Glass Pics

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Dominic
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Huuuuge Glass Pics

Post by Dominic »

Further to Max's nice glass pics, I thought I would share the absolute whoppers my wife and I found to day on the way back from Polis Paps.



First though, we need to set the scene. Most of our crystals lie on our lawns. They get cleaned whenever it rains. We like arranging some of them into patterns occasionally, but normally they are left to their own devices. Here our some of them:
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If you zoom in a bit, you will see them more clearly.
 
crystal2.jpg
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Bear in mind though, that they look much nicer in sunshine. At the moment they are just reflecting a rather dull cloud.
We arrange some of them into patterns. The 2 litre 7 up bottle is there to give an idea of scale.
 
crystal3.jpg
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Up until now, our biggest glass specimens would be in this shape.
 
crystal4.jpg
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However, today we found these two monster crystals:
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They are about 5 times the size of our previous biggest crystals.
 
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However, bigger is not always better. If you remember a while ago I did a blog about glass crystals (mine gypsum) and showed how cool they looked when held up to the sun. Well, the bigger crystals didn't let much light, so weren't that impressive. I imagine these two monsters will still look pretty opaque. However, they should reflect the light well, so perhaps they could go on some sort of plinth? I shall have to experiment, once I have given them a clean.




 
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cyprusmax47
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Re: Huuuuge Glass Pics

Post by cyprusmax47 »

Would be perhaps look nice if they stand up and a little garden solar light behind? But wow about the size...

Max
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Re: Huuuuge Glass Pics

Post by Lofos-5 »

Talking about monster crystals - have a look at these:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsto ... -cave.html

Personally I don’t get too exited about gypsum crystals - they are way too soft for a hard rocker... (a hard rocker is geologist who has studied/specialized in igneous rocks rather than sediments).

What I always remember are the huge “Bergkristalle” that are commonly shown in Swiss and Austrian natural museums. Here is a pic of one I could find on the internet just now:

https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:R ... istall.jpg

Quartz is much harder, a six on Mohs’ hardness scale.

A.
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cyprusmax47
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Re: Huuuuge Glass Pics

Post by cyprusmax47 »

Lofos-5 wrote: Sat Dec 22, 2018 5:51 pm Talking about monster crystals

Quartz is much harder, a six on Mohs’ hardness scale.

A.
Well, the opposite of monster crystal is that example then... only 1/2 mm long and Quartz, which I was testing right now..and it is not gypsum
Image

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Re: Huuuuge Glass Pics

Post by Lofos-5 »

To differentiate between natrolite (from the zeolite family) and quartz you have to look at the crystal system of these minerals.

Quartz is hexagonal so you should see angles of 60 degrees like in the bergkristall pic in the link above.

Natrolite is different. Quite well described here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natrolite?wprov=sfti1

Incidentally the type location is just 20 km from my home town. Never knew that. Everyday something new to learn!

Great photo and specimen - whatever it turns out to be.

A.
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Paul
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Re: Huuuuge Glass Pics

Post by Paul »

The best kind of glass!
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ph06kg1
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Re: Huuuuge Glass Pics

Post by ph06kg1 »

Naica gypsum is a real wonder! Woud looove to go there and observe in situ.. Thnk you Dominic for your post they are really wonderful! Each peace of rock from nature deserves respect, it was here before us; it will be here after us! And each has its own unique beauty!

Yesterday, when i was looking for mushrooms, near Kampia village, i met a huge linestone hill, which was full of beige jasper and orange agate! Even though i don't like much agate, that was magnificent! I shall post some pics for you!

Merry Christmas!!!
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