Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Bismuth Crystal photos (Lancaster PA)...

...Picked up some "Bismuth Crystals" today at Roots Country Market, Lancaster PA.
The geometry is just amazing, I need to get some good stereoscopic photos of these in a lightbox when I get home...

Bismuth (element #83 on the periodic table) forms beautifully colored and geometrically intricate hopper crystals, shown in the image to the left, as it slowly cools and solidifies from its molten state.The distinctive, 'hoppered', shape of a Bismuth crystal results from a higher growth rate around its outer edges than on its inside face. The higher rate of growth on the edges forms a crystal which appears to be partially hollowed out in a rectangular-spiral stair step design. The crystal's eye-catching array of colors results from the formation of a thin oxide layer on its surface.  Learn More...

 


 
 

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