The subject of how toys have been marketed by gender came up recently in a cartoon
(note: comic is ok, the site might be NSFW).
This triggered a few discussions of gender and how it applies to the marketing of science toys. This is always an issue to many folks, some are annoyed at how boys seem […]
Continued from part 1
The second form of quartz is known as Cryptocrystalline (or microcrystalline) Quartz. These are forms of quartz where the crystals are visible using a microscope or high powered magnifier. Usually the minerals formed by quartz being laid on from water sediment or other silica sources. The most common form of cryptocrystalline quartz […]
Quartz! Its the second most abundant mineral in the Earth’s crust (#1 is Fedspar) making up some 12% of our little planets shell. Quartz is a combination of Oxygen and Silica (SiO2). Quartz comes in two versions: crystalline and cryptocrystalline. The former category is what most people are familiar with and most of the quartz […]
Spectrum sells very attractive Bismuth crystals, probably one of the more expensive geology items we have in that size, but well worth it due to its magnificent color!
Bismuth is different from most of the rocks and minerals that we sell because it is an Element. It is as basic a compound you can get. With […]
One of the prettier items we have in our Geology section is the Satin Spar with Illuminated Stand. This a piece of Satin Spar, (a transluscent form of Selenite) with a mirrored, illuminated stand. In the stand are a series of colored LED lights that project into the Satin Spar and illuminate it with bright […]
We just got these in at Spectrum: A Satin Spar of Selenite with a battery powered, multi-colored LED stand!
The cool thing about this little item, which is a great gift, is how the Selenite spar glows from the colorful LED lights.
This works because Selenite is actually one of the forms of gypsum. Satin spar is […]
A customer was purchasing some of our rocks and minerals this weekend. One of the rocks they wanted to purchased looked a bit strange so they asked about it. I answered as accurately as possible: “Oh, I see, there’s just some interesting contaminants in the matrix”.
It was several moments before she stopped giggling.
VERSUS […]
Probably one of the most affordable and beautiful minerals available on Earth is amethyst. Amethyst is a form of quartz, which is the most abundant mineral on earth. While only a portion of all quartz in Amethyst it does mean that it is too common to be considered even a semi-precious stone. But that does […]
