[SP] The beauty of crystals

[Riverfairy]

Heey

Post a pic of a crystal or crystal cave /grid/jewellery etc...


Here's mine :

(Crystal cave in Finland)

 

[Coriolis]

Calcium tungstate

Erbium:YAG

LBO

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

My favorite crystal is bismuth. Can you believe this is the same stuff in Pepto-Bismol? It looks like like natural circuit boards or some kind of art-deco sculpture.

So much cooler than boring diamonds, which are more interesting to me because of their hardness than their appearance.

 

[SurrealisticSlumbers]

Groovy amethyst sink

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Groovy amethyst sink

That looks hard to clean.

 

[SurrealisticSlumbers]

That looks hard to clean.

Hah, you're telling me.

 

[Population: 1]

A giant crystal cave in Mexico. The temperature and humidity in this cave are both extremely high.

 

[Also]

Quartz crystal ball at a museum I went to last summer. 65 pounds.

 

[Hiraeth]

Peacock Ore

Pyrite

 

[The Cat]

 

[Riverfairy]

My favorite crystal is bismuth. Can you believe this is the same stuff in Pepto-Bismol? It looks like like natural circuit boards or some kind of art-deco sculpture.

So much cooler than boring diamonds, which are more interesting to me because of their hardness than their appearance.

The image speaks, in a way, of the electronic potential in crystals. And how our technological world depends on crystals ... period. Particularly quartz.

 

[Coriolis]

The image speaks, in a way, of the electronic potential in crystals. And how our technological world depends on crystals ... period. Particularly quartz.

Quartz? I think more of things like Si and GaAs.

 

[Population: 1]

The image speaks, in a way, of the electronic potential in crystals. And how our technological world depends on crystals ... period. Particularly quartz.

It always reminds me of a Mayan temple design of some sort or perhaps an inspiration to M.C. Escher.

 

[Riverfairy]

Quartz? I think more of things like Si and GaAs.

"Quartz crystals maintain a precise frequency standard, which helps to regulate the movement of a watch or clock, thus making the timepieces very accurate. Quartz is also used in radios, microprocessors, and many other technological and industrial applications." - from google questions ..

What are Si and GaAs used for?

 

[Lord Lavender]

Amethyst

 

[Coriolis]

It always reminds me of a Mayan temple design of some sort or perhaps an inspiration to M.C. Escher.

How about Indian step wells?

 

[highlander]

Heey Post a pic of a crystal or crystal cave /grid/jewellery etc... Here's mine : (Crystal cave in Finland) View attachment 20077

Great thread! I've always had a thing about crystals .. And metal like coins and stuff

 

[Riverfairy]

Great thread! I've always had a thing about crystals .. And metal like coins and stuff

Thank you. I'm really happy you guys are enjoying it!

 

[Riverfairy]

These Icelandic crystal caves are just bewildering!

crystal caves iceland - Google Search

 

[Coriolis]

"Quartz crystals maintain a precise frequency standard, which helps to regulate the movement of a watch or clock, thus making the timepieces very accurate. Quartz is also used in radios, microprocessors, and many other technological and industrial applications." - from google questions ..

What are Si and GaAs used for?

Well, computer chips are mostly made of Si. GaAs is used in integrated circuits for microwave frequencies, light-emitting diodes, lasers, and solar cells, plus more esoteric research uses. These are both grown in large boules then sliced and polished into thin (~0.5 mm or so) wafers onto which the various structures are grown and patterned. (GaAs boule below, but Si looks similar.)

Here is an overview of crystals and crystal growth that explains some of this; probably contains more than you wanted to know, but it's a start. Many of the links on this page are broken, so if you want to know more about some of these laser and other crystals, check out these page at Synoptics: laser crystals, "specialty" crystals.