EducationThe science

What are minerals? Views and judgments

Over the centuries, the views on what minerals are are constantly changing. And now, whether we want it or not, we are told from all sides about the minerals. If you believe such a "favorite" of all advertising, they are everywhere, from toothpaste and ending with a feed for sterilized cats.

So what are minerals? And at the present time there is no common opinion about this concept and disputes are not abating. If we somewhat simplify the existing definitions, then the answer to the question "What are minerals?" Can be formulated as follows: minerals are solids having a natural inorganic origin and a crystalline structure whose composition can be represented as a chemical formula. That is, according to this definition, minerals are substances formed during geological processes and having a certain chemical composition. They can be felt physically, that is, by touching, measuring, weighing or seeing, even if using optical instruments. Proceeding from this, the message about minerals, for example, in the feed for cats, which we hear in the commercials, seems at least an ordinary publicity stunt, and by and large - complete nonsense. Although there really are natural minerals that we encounter everyday in everyday life, moreover, without which it is difficult to imagine a full life. One of them is rock salt (halite).

A very important characteristic of minerals in this definition is their "natural inorganic origin". Of particular interest is precisely the "natural" origin. There is a huge amount of all kinds of chemical inorganic compounds known to chemists, but only a small part of these compounds are found in nature, as corresponding to the presented definition of minerals. The reason is that under laboratory conditions, chemists have the opportunity to create more diverse conditions than existing in real nature, and to assemble in one "company" such chemicals that in nature are almost never found together.

Continuing to find out yet what minerals are, and what is not, we note that, strictly speaking, artificial diamonds and rubies created in the laboratory can not be called minerals. It can not be attributed to minerals, including natural ones (despite their natural origin), and known from ancient times amber and jet, which is a viscous variety of coal. The reason is the absence of a crystal structure.

Many questions before chemists who classify minerals, put mercury - the only one of metals that occurs naturally in liquid form. Earlier, when the composition of minerals played a major role in their classification, mercury was considered a mineral (however, water also). Now, when the presence of a crystalline structure is added to the definition of minerals, most natural chemists do not classify natural liquid substances as belonging to the class of minerals.

In the row of the most precious ornaments, we are accustomed to hear the mention of pearls. However, it can not be called a mineral in any way due to the fact that its structure is not homogeneous. In its composition there is a mineral calcite (calcium carbonate, crystalline substance) and organic substances, each of its constituent components having its own chemical composition.

Currently, the term "mineral" is often used as the name of a whole mineral series, and as the name of a single crystal. For example, such a unique property of a diamond as its hardness is understood as a common property of crystals of a given mineral species. But when it comes to one of the world's largest diamond, "Cullinan," it means a separately taken mineral.

Similar articles

 

 

 

 

Trending Now

 

 

 

 

Newest

Copyright © 2018 en.birmiss.com. Theme powered by WordPress.