Let us find a treasure in the sand

There are many ways one can entertain himself and looking at everything through a microscope is a fun thing to do. It is an interesting exercice to take a sample of beach sand and examine it under the stereoscope. Going grain to grain, scrutinizing them, one not only realizes that sand is unexpectedly beautiful, but finds surprieses hidden within them.

It is easy to discover traces of moluscs, algae and a wide range of miscellaneous rubbish that was left astray in the sea. However, it is more often a very good exposition of minerals. Shown in the image, there is a very small crystal. Mounted like a gem in a ring, salt crystals can seed on the surfaces of rocks, which are mainly cuarzeous as it is the most common mineral found on the earth’s crust.

Salt crystals can grow very big and, moreover, very square. It is easy to form them and their crystallization is enormously appreciated on culinary applications. Heated in the stove and left to evaporate, in the second image we have a lovely couple of twinned crystals.

Author: Sergi Batlle