Ever
been to the beach and got sand in your eye and said, “Darn that smarts!”? Well
take a look at the picture above. That’s why. Lots of sharp, jagged, geometric
characteristics comprise the miniscule grains of sand we find lying around us
every day. Seems kind of incredible since every time we look at it all we see
is an amalgamation of khaki color. How could each grain of sand be so unique in
shape, size, and be so colorful? On our first day back from my little winter
break here at To Infinity…And In Theory we’re going to explore sand. From its
formation to its composition, and even a little bit about why it’s so much more
important than just that annoying beach dirt that gets stuck in your swim
trunks.
Just Sand? Ha! Don’t
Be Silica…
So
what exactly is sand made of? Well that mostly depends on where your sand came
from. Sand is actually tiny fragments of broken down igneous rock that is
carried by wind, water, or even glaciers that usually ends up as sediment in bodies
of water or as dunes and deserts on land. But typically speaking sand is mostly
comprised of silica. You may more commonly know this as it’s mineralized form,
quartz.
Coral,
Gypsum, Hematite, lava rock, all of these are different particles that can form
a grain of sand. When analyzed, this can give geologists insight as to where
the sand came from, for instance, if the sample is high in coral content and
many of its neighbor particles are rounded marble shapes, it’s safe to assume
it was formed in an ocean where the rolling waters wore down the rough edges
and smoothed it to a spherical shape.
“Every
grain of sand is a jewel waiting to be discovered.” This was so eloquently
phrased by doctor (and photographer) Gary Greenberg after he had turned his
microscopes to sand. The microscopic seashells and fragments he found within
the ocean sediment were absolutely stunning. You can see more of his wonderful
photography here.
Get a Room You Dirty
Dune
Ever
seen a sand dune make love?
Want
to?
If
that’s the case, not only are you a rather strange individual but you’re also
probably pretty patient too, because in order to watch a sand dune mate with
another dune you’ll be standing in your respective desert for possibly a year,
dependent on the size of your dune. As wind blows against some kind of a
backstop and picks up small grains of sand it will blow them into a dune
formation. If the conditions are just right the wind can also push that dune
across the desert.
But
what happens if a smaller dune runs into a bigger dune? Does it just get
swallowed up and disappear? Nope. That sandy hill turns into Kitty Pryde from
the X-Men and phases right through it! Sometimes the edges of the crescent
shape break off the bigger dune forming two smaller dunes. This is the process scientists
refer to as breeding and takes a rather long time to accomplish.
And
here you thought sloths were slow…
The Sandy (And Itchy)
Lap of Luxury
The
picture above is the innards of a watch. If you look at number seven on the
list it says “Quartz Crystal.” Quartz is made of silica, in fact, its silica in
its mineral form. It may not be a precious jewel but scientists have discovered
that it is indeed quite useful. Why? In short, much like metal, quartz can
conduct electricity, but not just
like metal; it prefers to do things a little differently.
The
process by which Quartz operates a current is called Piezoelectricity. This is
the ability to convert voltage when placed under mechanical stress. It’s not
just Quartz; certain ceramics have this property as well. How it works is Quartz
maintains a specific frequency standard. Because of this scientists know
exactly how it will react under certain situations and be able to use it in a
variety of electronics, from computers to TV’s and even your Xbox Ones and
PS4s. Furthermore, most quartz nowadays found in our technology is synthetic,
allowing scientists to further tweak and groom it to whatever frequency they
need it to be.
Another
use for Silica is something you may or not be aware of. Take a look out your
window. I mean a good, hard, long look. What do you see? A yard? Your kids
playing with the dog? Maybe the neighbor digging his truck out from under six
tons of snow? There are a million things any given one of you could see at this
moment outside your window. But chances are you all have one thing in common.
The glass you’re looking through.
Windows
are thought to be a modern invention but if this were Jeopardy you’d have just
answered that question wrong. Glass windows were discovered in the ruins of
Pompeii leading archaeologists to the conclusion that glass was a luxury item,
afforded by the rich and divine. If you had glass windows, you were part of the
Elite. (Granted back in those days if you had anything above a dirt floor and a
thatched roof you could be considered Mr. Fancy Pants.) But where did it come
from?
There
was a Roman Naturalist named Pliny the Elder who had an answer. The ancient
Phoenicians. Ever heard of them? Probably not, they aren’t exactly widely
talked about in high school curriculum. They should be however, as they are
credited with many important discoveries that we use today, including pottery,
trade, and jewelry.
Mostly
contributing to the fields of seafaring and navigation, the Phoenicians were
quite a clever bunch. They had to be, they spent the entirety of their lives
going from unknown to unknown. On one of these trips, allegedly with Pliny
along for the ride, they made camp on a beach along the coastlines of modern
day Palestine. They quickly encountered a problem. There were no rocks nearby
to support their pots as they cooked their dinner.
As
I said though, they were a clever bunch and they returned to the ship and
gathered up blocks of Saltpeter to use to prop their cookware up. As they ate,
drank, and burned their fires through the night something strange was happening
beneath the flames. The saltpeter and the quartz were melting into an unknown
fluid. As the fires died and morning came the fluid had hardened into a solid.
This colorful substance became known as glass.
In
closing, sand is much more than just a beach-goers crotch nuisance. It provides
us with plates to eat from, windows to keep the cold out, watches to make sure
we get to work on time, and radios to blast Pantera at ungodly hours. It can be
used to filter our water, provide traction on icy roads, and give us the extra
grit to finish the body of that walnut and maple guitar we’ve been building.
Sand is much more useful than you probably came into this article knowing.
Sand
is much more than just a pretty grain.
-
Ryan
Sanders
For further reading on any of the
topics above feel free to visit any of the below listed websites, and as always
thank you so much for reading! Happy learning everyone!
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