Today’s distraction:
The winner of this match will face #Magnetite for the finals with a shot at the #MinCup2020 crown. Both are beautiful & bizarre with odd properties and a lot of charm.
Both are Safe But Boring to lick. They even have similar texture (smooth). As far as your tongue in concerned, it’s a wash. You’ll need different criteria to pick your fav.
(One #MinCup we’ll have either a Fun To Lick or a Do Not Lick finalist and I will be overjoyed)
#Fluorite is a basic calcium fluoride (CaF2), which didn’t give me headaches when memorizing composition for mineralogy exams.
Amusingly, the element is named for the mineral, not the other way around. Same for fluorescence: the effect named for the rock’s distinctive property.
#Fluorite has highly geometric growth, usually forming as cubes or octahedron but occasionally as dodecahedrons. If you SMASHY-SMASHY, it has perfect cleavage into flat triangles & rectangles.
It picks up vibrant colour from any trace contaminants, sometimes growing as rainbows.
While most of #MinCup2020 has focused #Fluorite’s beauty (fair), it’s also a workhorse.
Fluorite is the primary industrial source of fluorine. The name is a hint (fluere = to flow): it’s used as flux to purify steel & other metals. It’s also used in specialized glass for optics.
Likewise, #Corundum is a basic aluminum oxide (Al2O3) where neat colours come from contamination of other trace minerals. The most famous varieties are emery (as in nailfile) and the gems ruby & sapphire.
Historically, it’s a catch-all for pretty blue or red shinies.
While diamonds define the top of the Moh’s hardness scale, #Corundum is the next step down (colloquially “hard af”) and far tougher with resistance to scratching, smashing, & even acid baths.
It’s occasionally triboluminescent, so SMASHY-SMASHY is more likely to glow than break.
Pretty #Corundum is most frequently mined as gems (most often ruby & sapphire, but high-shine cleat yellows/oranges/greens are gaining popularity), but less-pretty (& usually synthetic) varieties are a common industrial abrasive, heat-resistant refractory, or laser gain medium.
I know which way I’m voting, but honestly either of these pretties is a good choice.
The match is hovering near 50/50. A dozen votes could easily win it. Take a break from Doomscrolling to browse pretty pix & esoteric facts, pick your fav, & vote!
#Fluorite vs #Corundum are tied within detection limits with only 60 minutes left.
3 votes could select the semi-finalist that faces off against #Magnetite for the crown.
Go on, cackle maniacally while using your power choosing between a pair of good options.
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