DESKTOP 2232 - JADE

Jade is an ornamental mineral, mostly known for its green varieties. It can refer to either of two different minerals: Nephrite, a silicate of calcium and magnesium, or jadeite, a silicate of sodium and aluminium. Jade is featured prominently in ancient Asian art, but also has an important place in many other cultures.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 1917 - QUARTZ

Quartz is a mineral composed of silicon and oxygen atoms in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical formula of SiO2. Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust, behind feldspar.

Quartz crystals are chiral, and exist in two forms, the normal α-quartz and the high-temperature β-quartz. The transformation from α-quartz to β-quartz takes place abruptly at 573 °C (846 K). Since the transformation is accompanied by a significant change in volume, it can easily induce fracturing of ceramics or rocks passing through this temperature limit. 

There are many different varieties of quartz, several of which are semi-precious gemstones. Since antiquity, varieties of quartz have been the most commonly used minerals in the making of jewellery and hardstone carvings, especially in Eurasia.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

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DESKTOP 1867 - RED, GREEN, YELLOW

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
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and also part of the Macro Monday meme.

DESKTOP 1768 - MALACHITE

Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral, with the formula Cu2CO3(OH)2. This opaque, green banded mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses, in fractures and spaces, deep underground, where the water table and hydrothermal fluids provide the means for chemical precipitation. Individual crystals are rare but do occur as slender to acicular prisms. Pseudomorphs after more tabular or blocky azurite crystals also occur.

The stone's name derives (via Latin: molochītis, Middle French: melochite, and Middle English melochites) from Greek Μολοχίτης λίθος molochitis lithos, "mallow-green stone", from μολόχη molōchē, variant of μαλάχη malāchē, "mallow". The mineral was given this name due to its resemblance to the leaves of the mallow plant.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,

and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,

and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

DESKTOP 1231 - DAISY SULPHATE

A collage of gerberas and daisies on a background of copper sulphate ("blue vitriol") crystals.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
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and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
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DESKTOP 1167 - SUGILITE

Sugilite, also known as lavulite, royal azel, cybeline, and wesselite, is a relatively rare pink to purple cyclosilicate mineral with the complex chemical formula KNa2(Fe, Mn, Al)2Li3Si12O30. Sugilite crystallises in the hexagonal system with prismatic crystals. The crystals are rarely found and the form is usually massive. It has a Mohs hardness of 5.5 to 6.5 and a specific gravity of 2.75 to 2.80. It is mostly translucent.

Sugilite was first described in 1944 by the Japanese petrologist Ken-ichi Sugi (1901–1948) for an occurrence on Iwagi Islet, Japan, where it is found in an aegirine syenite intrusive stock. It is found in a similar environment at Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Canada. In the Wessels mine in Northern Cape Province of South Africa, sugilite is mined from a strata-bound manganese deposit. It is also reported from Liguria and Tuscany, Italy; New South Wales, Australia and Madhya Pradesh, India.

Note: The mineral is commonly pronounced with a soft "g", as in "ginger". However, as with most minerals, its pronunciation is intended to be the same as the person it is named after; in this case, the Japanese name Sugi has a hard "g", as in "geese".

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DESKTOP 1137 - MALACHITE

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

DESKTOP 1130 - KRYPTONITE!

Kryptonite is a material from the Superman fictional universe, specifically the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. First mentioned in The Adventures of Superman radio show in June 1943, the material has been featured in a variety of forms and colours (each with its own effect) in DC Comics publications and other media, including feature films, television series, and novelty items such as toys and trading card sets. The classic form of kryptonite comes in glowing GREEN!

The established premise is that Superman and other Kryptonian characters are susceptible to its radiation, which created usage of the term in popular culture as a reference to an individual's perceived weakness, irrespective of its nature, similar to the term "Achilles' heel."

Seriously now, my "kryptonite" here is just broken green glass...

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

DESKTOP 1077 - AZURITE

Azurite is a soft, deep blue copper mineral produced by weathering of copper ore deposits. It is also known as Chessylite after the type locality at Chessy-les-Mines near Lyon, France. The mineral, a carbonate, has been known since ancient times, and was mentioned in Pliny the Elder's Natural History under the Greek name kuanos (κυανός: "deep blue," root of English cyan) and the Latin name caeruleum.

The blue of azurite is exceptionally deep and clear, and for that reason the mineral has tended to be associated since antiquity with the deep blue color of low-humidity desert and winter skies. The modern English name of the mineral reflects this association, since both azurite and azure are derived via Arabic from the Persian lazhward (لاژورد), an area known for its deposits of another deep blue stone, lapis lazuli ("stone of azure").

This post is part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme,

and also part of the Through my Lens meme.

DESKTOP 997 - EMERALD

Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) coloured green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the Mohs scale. Most emeralds are highly included, so their toughness (resistance to breakage) is classified as generally poor. It is a cyclosilicate.

The word "emerald" is derived (via Old French: esmeraude and Middle English: emeraude), from Vulgar Latin: esmaralda/esmaraldus, a variant of Latin smaragdus, which originated in Greek: σμάραγδος (smaragdos; "green gem").

Emerald is regarded as the traditional birthstone for May as well as the traditional gemstone for the astrological signs of Taurus, Gemini, and sometimes Cancer.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.