Many of us remember the crystal chandeliers of the Soviet era, which our parents considered almost a treasure. Of course, today we already treat objects made of rock crystal without much trepidation, but we cannot but recognize their beauty.
Crystal is one of the many varieties of quartz, which is perhaps the most common mineral on the planet. There are smoky, yellow and pink specimens, as well as the rarest black crystals called morion. In a word, the types of rock crystal are incredibly diverse, and their areas of application are numerous.
Where do you think the name of this mineral came from? The Greeks gave him the name krystallos, which means "ice" in Russian. In the language of chemistry, everything is much more prosaic. Crystal is silicon dioxide.
As already mentioned, it is very common, and therefore there are deposits all over the world. How is this ordinary, but no less beautiful material formed?
All rock crystal deposits are formed during magmatic processes, when molten rocks cool when accessedoxygen. In addition, geologists also described a hydrothermal type of development: this is when hot alkaline solutions saturated with silicon s alts gradually evaporate under the influence of high temperatures and with the access of oxygen. In this case, the number of variable color ranges of crystal is much larger.
This stone has been mined since antiquity. Of course, at first there were no mines and even open pits. Rare pieces of crystal, more like another cobblestone, were found on the rapids of rivers that flowed from under the glaciers. Pieces were split and ground.
Historians and ethnographers say that the rock crystal mineral played an important role in the evolutionary development of man.
For its processing, perfect coordination of movements, good development of fine motor skills and really angelic patience were required: the products were polished with fine sand paste, using coarse ropes made of plant fibers for this.
It has been known since ancient times that after polishing, this initially nondescript pebble, which you can’t even look at once, acquires a striking resemblance to a diamond. This property was used not only for good purposes: until now, masters of fakes are widespread all over the world, substituting expensive diamond jewelry for their rock crystal ersatz.
But in ancient times, the use of this mineral was not so vile. Lenses from it were used by ancient metallurgists, setting up the first experiments in history on the pure smelting of metals, andTibetans used polished pieces of crystal to cauterize wounds by passing focused sunlight through them. The benefit was not only in the thermal effect: this material perfectly transmits UV radiation, which also has a detrimental effect on pathogenic microflora. It is not surprising that priests widely used rock crystal stone, carving ritual bowls and goblets from it.
The Aztecs and other ancient peoples of Yucatan are infamous in this regard: many of the tools used to cut the still living captives were made from it.
