Most gemstones are natural€crystals chosen for their beauty, durability, and, in many instances, rarity. The roof and outer walls were made of nearly 300,000 panes of glass – not crystals.ġ8th-century miniature painting of an Indian woman bedecked with jewelry The Crystal Palace was built for the Great Exhibition of London of 1851, but was destroyed by fire in 1936. Minerals in this form are described as massive. This specimen of the mineral scapolite consists of a mass of€small, poorly formed crystals. Most grow irregularly and€the faces are often difficult to distinguish. But inorganic compounds not found naturally as minerals also form crystals, such as this artificially grown crystal of potassium magnesium sulfide.Ĭrystals only grow large and perfect in€the right conditions. Most crystals in this book are of naturally occurring, solid, inorganic materials called minerals. These ice crystals are about 450 times their€real size. In the€vapor (steam) the molecules move about€vigorously in the liquid they move slowly in the solid (ice) they are arranged in a regular order and form a crystalline solid. Water is made of atoms of hydrogen and oxygen bound together to form molecules. They show characteristic faces.Ī material can exist as a solid, a liquid, or a gas depending on its temperature. These magnificent crystals have formed from hot watery solutions within the earth. In ancient times it was thought that rock crystal, a colorless variety of quartz, was ice that had frozen so hard it would never€melt. The word crystal is based on the Greek word krystallos, derived from kryos, meaning icy cold. They are said€to have crystallized, and the plane surfaces are known as faces. Many substances can grow in characteristic geometric forms enclosed by smooth plane surfaces. Crystals are solid materials in which the atoms are arranged in a regular pattern (pp. ManyĬrystals fit these ideals, especially those cut as gemstones, but most are neither perfect nor transparent. What is a crystal? Crystals are associated with perfection, transparency, and clarity. and inside 16 The color of crystals 18 Identification 20 Natural growth 22 Good habits 24 Discovery-recovery 26 Growing from seed 28 Crystals at work 30 Good vibrations 32 Quartz 34 Diamond 36 Corundum 38 Beryl 40 OpalĤ2 Other gemstones 48 Collectors’ items 50 Stones for carving 52 Precious metals 54 Animal and vegetable 56 What is it worth? 58 Making them sparkle 60 Lore and legends 62 Crystals at home 64 Did you know? 66 Identifying gemstones 68 Find out more 70 Glossary 72 Index ISBN 978-0-7566-3001-0 (HC) 978-0-7566-0663-3 (Library Edition)Ĭolor reproduction by Colourscan, Singapore Printed in China by Toppan Printing Co., (Shenzhen) Ltd.Ĭontents 6 What is a crystal? 8 A world of crystals 10 Natural beauty 12 Crystals-outside. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. This Eyewitness ® Guide has been conceived by Dorling Kindersley Limited and Editions Gallimard This edition published in the United States in 2007 by DK Publishing, Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014 Copyright © 1991, © 2004, © 2007 Dorling Kindersley Limited 08 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 cd189 - 04/07 All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. ‡ Siu Ho, Andy Hilliard, Ronaldo Julien.‡ Marie Osborn, Kate Lockley DTP designersâ.‡ Jenny Jacoby, Angela Graef Picture researchâ.‡ Angela Wilkes, Sue Nicholson Art editorâ.‡ Jane Thomas, Martin Wilson Publishing managerâ.‡ Andrew Macintyre, Camilla Hallinan Managing art editorsâ.‡ Colin Keates ABIPP (Natural History Museum).‡ Julia Harris, Jacquie Gulliver Productionâ.LONDON, NEW YORK, MELBOURNE, MUNICH, and DELHI Project editorâ
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