tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,547
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Post by tkvancil on Jul 15, 2014 9:33:10 GMT -5
In my rock shop I have this set of plastic drawers with tools, manuals and tumbler parts in it. On top of it is an assortment of self collected stuff that I like to look at. There is an assortment of fossils, fossils in matrix, pyrite, and some interesting leaverites. I went into the shop yesterday and saw something very strange. Two out of three pieces of chert with pyrite inclusions had begun to grow hair on the exposed mineral. The one with no hair was in contact with a piece of agatized coral. The two hairy ones were in contact with some sort of sedimentary rocks which have brachiopod impressions. Does anybody know why this happens?
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Post by Pat on Jul 15, 2014 10:25:39 GMT -5
Wooow! New life form?
New to me. I have some fuzzy rocks, but the fuzz is a form of crystal. Interested in seeing the answer to this one!
Front left looks like a mournful critter.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2014 11:02:20 GMT -5
Interesting. As Pat said, it is crystallization. If there is high humidity, it could be salts coming to the surface. Calcium minerals also tend to rapidly form on surfaces of rocks that have been soaked for a long period prior to being stored. The process is similar to the old classroom science project where kids soak a piece of charcoal with a salt or soda solution to grow xtls overnight. Another factor might be the plastic, much of which gives off acidic by-products (including gases) over time, which could also be contributing to the growths. Kind of cool. While I also have some hair-like crystal specimens, the only crystals I've seen forming in storage was with stacked, damp slabs (to the point where some largely "re-healed" together), but nothing quite that fuzzy.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 15, 2014 11:32:58 GMT -5
Let it grow and document the crystal formation process! I think it's improving the rocks.
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Post by nowyo on Jul 15, 2014 20:01:24 GMT -5
Growing hair on rocks? A cure for baldness perhaps?
Russ
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Post by braders on Aug 2, 2014 10:01:21 GMT -5
Im with this guy let it roll lets see how big they can go !!
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