Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology => Topic started by: DoctorBeaver on 07/08/2007 01:06:41
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What is it that gives different types of quartz their colour?
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I would imagine it is just impurities in the crystals.
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What sort of impurities & how do they get there?
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If I remember correctly, smokey quartz is caused by irradiation of aluminum particles, amethyst and citrine are iron inclusions, and rose quartz is ?titanium?
As far as I know, the impurities are incorporated into the solution that the quartz crystallizes from.
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Thanks Frethack. Another question then. If citrine & amethyst contain iron, are they magnetic? And how come the same impurity can cause 2 different colours? (OK, 2 questions [:I] )
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As far as I know, the magnetic properties of iron are an effect of the bulk material, and a fee isolated atoms within the bulk of another material would not make it magnetic (or at least, no more magnetic than any other atom).
Normally the difference in colour with metals such as iron, copper, etc., are because they are transition metals that can exist in more than one valance, the difference in valance means their electron configuration has been modified in different ways by their environment, and so changing the way the electrons interact with light.
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Thanks, George
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If my failing memory serves me correctly, rose quartz gets it color from ferrous Fe and Ti (perhaps with a bit of Mn added in), Amethyst is from ferric Fe and Al, and Citrine is ferric Fe. Heating amethyst will cause it to turn yellow, close to the color of citrine. The inclusions replace silica in the lattice of the quartz crystal.
Smokey quarzt is due to radiation. There is a smokey quartz collection locality just a few miles from my house, the quarzt crystals are inclusions in young granite that has high concentrations of uranium and thorium- I've seen quartz crystals up to a couple of feet in length.
Somewhere about the house, I have a beautiful specimen of rose quartz that I found in the Black Hills, South Dakota- I'll paste a photo after I rummage through my boxes of rocks.
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I've got all sorts of quartz, which is why I asked the question. I hope smokey quartz isn't radioactive as I have quite a large chunk of it.
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I have two chunks of rose quartz that a fellow teacher gave me.. with a note she wrote, saying that if I rub it all over my heart area, it will heal my heart! What does titanium due and do quartz or other things in it have healing properties.. Like doc asked could it be radio active..? What is ferris Fe and Ti?
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In gemstone therapy, each type of gemstone is reputed to have a specific healing power. (I cannot not recall which healing power is supposed to be linked to which gemstone - and frankly, I do not believe in it). I can not promise you a more detailed answer in a short delay, but I do now someone who is deeply in this alternative therapy stuff and then compare his theories to what we know of the different impurities causing the colours.
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I have two chunks of rose quartz that a fellow teacher gave me.. with a note she wrote, saying that if I rub it all over my heart area, it will heal my heart!
Hope your heart isn't broken [:(] You certainly have loads of friends here on the forum.
What does titanium due and do quartz or other things in it have healing properties.. Like doc asked could it be radio active..? What is ferris Fe and Ti?
Ferrous and ferric refer to different ions of iron, ferrous being Fe2+ and ferric being more oxidized at Fe3+. There is enough radioactivity in smoky quartz to change the color, but not enough to be of harm to you.
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In gemstone therapy, each type of gemstone is reputed to have a specific healing power. (I cannot not recall which healing power is supposed to be linked to which gemstone - and frankly, I do not believe in it). I can not promise you a more detailed answer in a short delay, but I do now someone who is deeply in this alternative therapy stuff and then compare his theories to what we know of the different impurities causing the colours.
Thanks Eric that would be interesting to read about!
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I have two chunks of rose quartz that a fellow teacher gave me.. with a note she wrote, saying that if I rub it all over my heart area, it will heal my heart!
Hope your heart isn't broken [:(] You certainly have loads of friends here on the forum.
What does titanium due and do quartz or other things in it have healing properties.. Like doc asked could it be radio active..? What is ferris Fe and Ti?
Ferrous and ferric refer to different ions of iron, ferrous being Fe2+ and ferric being more oxidized at Fe3+. There is enough radioactivity in smoky quartz to change the color, but not enough to be of harm to you.
Thank you and that was a very nice thing of you to say.. I appreciate the thoughts..Thanks again.
The Ferris and Ferric make sense as I was on an Iron supplement called Ferrous Gluconate.
So what was TI??
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Ti is titanium, Mn is manganese, and of course Al is Aluminum, which most readily substitutes for Si (pure quartz is SiO2)
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I was not thinking about the Titanium! Thanks for the translation..Bass.