In the bowels of our planet there is a huge amount of both precious and semi-precious stones, the use of which is not limited to "bruliks" alone.
However, the question of what tourmaline is sometimes arises after visiting various kinds of jewelry stores, so they play a significant role in educational activities. By the way, let's take a closer look at the origin and features of this material.
Description
So, what is tourmaline? It is a mineral from the class of ring silicates. More precisely, a group of minerals, since among them there are varieties that are almost opposite in their properties. More scientifically speaking, this substance occurs in nature in the form of several isomorphic series.
At the heart of the amazing beauty of tourmaline crystals is silicon oxide, which crystallizes in a trigonal syngony. Their color can vary from black to completely transparent varieties.
The surface often resembles glass (because of the characteristic luster), but it is much more pleasant to the touch, as it has a kind of “silky” structure. Because of this, the question of what tourmaline is is more often answered that it is a piece of jewelry. They are extremely skin friendly, being made from this mineral.
Jewelers especially appreciate polychrome varieties. This is the name of tourmaline specimens, in one crystal of which several color zones are combined at once. In addition, its distinguishing feature is hemimorphism, when the opposite faces of the crystal are cut in a completely different way.
Application
The value of tourmalines is that they have pyro- and piezoelectric qualities, which is why they are widely used in various industries. For this purpose, high-quality colorless crystals are most often used, which do not have defects.
However, this is much more common for cheap products, since opaque tourmaline is much more common in nature, and therefore provides a low cost for the equipment in which it is used.
The piezoelectric properties of a stone are related to the fact that its opposite faces can accumulate charges of opposite polarities. This is due to the hemimorphism described above (which is rare in other crystalline materials). It is actively used in electronics, and the largest crystals are especially quoted.
Almost any kind of tourmaline can be used even in complex medical equipment. Together with its low cost, this opens up very broad prospects. And doctors have long discovered its potential in air ionization, which is due to the same piezoelectricability.
By the way, regarding its semi-precious properties. As is the case with diamonds, the classification of stones into “jewelry” and “technical” is largely based on both their clarity and appearance.
Polychrome varieties are extremely sought after for jewelry, while perfectly transparent crystals are quoted by technicians.
Now you know exactly what tourmaline is.
