This specimens are Sulfur, a native element, and Calcite, a mineral. The Sulfur minerals are yellow in color and the Calcite minerals are clear in color. Sulfur is mined to make sulfuric acid (H2SO4), matches and dyes and is used in water treatment systems, paper production etc. Calcite is used in construction, to create acid neutralizers, paint, etc. The specimen measures approximately 10.5 cm x 8 cm.
- Catalog Number:
- 41379
- Object/Specimen Description:
- Specimen Count:
- 2
- Locality:
- European Region
- Collecting Locality:
- Europe, Italy, Sicily, Agrigento
- Cabinet:
- 07
- Drawer/Shelf:
- 01
One of the most striking, yet least diagnostic, features of many minerals is their color. Well-formed mineral crystals span the entire rainbow of tinctures, from red (cinnabar, garnet) to yellow (sulfur), green (malachite), blue (azurite, lazurite), and violet (the amethyst variety of quartz). Minerals containing iron and magnesium are often dark brown or dark green. Impurities, trace amounts of elements that do not normally belong in the mineral, may change the overall color of a crystal. For instance, depending on the trace amounts of impurities it contains, quartz may look colorless (no impurities), light pink (titanium, iron, or manganese), milky white (tiny bubbles of gas or liquid), purple (iron), yellow (iron), or brown (extra silicon). However, multiple minerals may have almost the same color, so scientists must rely on other physical properties to make definite identifications of mineral specimens.