Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #amethyst

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Why is amethyst purple?
Most #amethyst forms when lava with gas bubbles in it hardens and creates rock with cavities (i.e. the lave crusts over before gasses in the lava can escape, leaving a hollow area inside the rock).
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia Image
The cavities fill with silica-rich liquid that contains trace amounts of iron. Over time, this liquid forms crystals that line the cavity walls. After crystallization, gamma rays, emitted by radioactive materials in the host rock, irradiate the iron to produce the purple color. Image
The word #amethyst comes from the ancient Greeks who thought it looked like wine and figured the gem prevented its wearer from getting drunk. “Amethystos” is Greek for "not intoxicated."
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia Image
Read 7 tweets
I had exactly 30min entry-to-exit to explore @hmns.

I’d heard they have a solid collection of trilobites & the massive cut blue sapphire Siren of Serendip is a special exhibit.

But with the clock ticking down, I raced up the stairs & tumbled into Cullen Hall of Gems & Minerals. Museum wall sign of icons indicating different types of exhibits
#Crocoite: Shiny red-orange spiketastic lead chromate.

Despite being named for colour-matching saffron, lead makes it firmly “Do Not Lick.”

This particular spikefren is from Adelaide Mine, Tasmania, sticking with “everything cute in Australia can secretly kill you” theme. Adamantine red-orange long prismatic crystalsAdamantine red-orange long prismatic crystalsAdamantine red-orange long prismatic crystals
#Fluorite: a honkin’ massive cube of calcium fluorite with that particular dull-waxy translucence I wanna pet so bad.

No UV light to see if it’d fluoresce pretty colours for me.

From Nikolaevskiy Mine in Russia where hot sulfide solutions crystallized in limestone caverns. Large translucent pale green cube with smaller cube to sideClose-up of cubical facets
Read 65 tweets

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