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Sylvia Rose
Dec 24, 20245 min read
Vulcano: Child Miners, Gods & Extremophiles
Vulcano is part of the Aeolian Island archipelago of Italy. Named for Vulcan, Roman god of fire and metalworking, Vulcano is a unique...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 18, 20244 min read
First Life on Earth: Microbes & Stromatolites
Ancient microbes in harsh conditions are the earliest life forms. Fossil records appear in rock formations up to 3.7 billion years old....
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 13, 20245 min read
Chalk (CaCO3): Bounty of the Primal Seas
Chalk is fundamentally calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and takes hundreds of millions of years to form. This seemingly mundane mineral has a...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 12, 20245 min read
Silica, Silicon & Silicone: Differences & Similarities
Silica, silicon, and silicone refer to related but distinct substances with specific properties, applications, and origins. Silica is...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 3, 20248 min read
Natural Glass Gemstones: Cataclysmic Fusion
Natural glass gemstones are caused by extraordinary geological events, such as intense heat and cataclysmic impacts. Natural glass...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 2, 20247 min read
Silica (SiO2): Nature of Glass & Gems
Silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO2), occurs in the Earth’s crust, the microcosm and daily life. Silica makes ancient glass such as...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 1, 20245 min read
Silicon (Si): Fueling the Robot Apocalypse
Silicon (Si) is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, a ductile metal important to industry and natural processes. Silicon is in...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 20, 20245 min read
Calcite: Metal-Eating Bacteria to Coral Reefs
Calcite is made up of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). With stunning crystal formations and a range of beautiful colors, calcite also has...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 20, 20245 min read
S. pasteurii: Calcium Eating Limestone-Making Bacteria
Sporosarcina pasteurii is a gram-positive bacterium with the extraordinary ability to precipitate calcite and solidify sand when exposed...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 14, 20244 min read
Algae in Glass Houses: Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth (DE) is an amazing natural powder ground from the sedimentary stone diatomite. The stone itself is made of fossilized...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 14, 20246 min read
Diatoms: Glass-Making Algae Crucial to Life
Diatoms, while invisible to the naked eye, are essential to the ecosystem and human survival. These tiny microalgae prolifically generate...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 13, 20246 min read
Pyrometallurgy: Ancient Processes of Modern Alchemy
Pyrometallurgy is the high-temperature processing of ores to extract and refine metals. It uses alchemical processes in a modern...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 12, 20245 min read
Biometallurgy: Microbes Mining Metals
Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is only one of the amazing bacteria used in biometallurgy. In an age of environmental concerns,...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 11, 20245 min read
Chalcopyrite (CuFeS₂): Shining Copper Ore
Chalcopyrite (CuFeS₂) is vital to the earth's geology. A primary ore of copper, this scintillating mineral is influential to health,...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 7, 20245 min read
Copper(II) Sulfate: Blue Vitriol, Chalcanthite
Copper (II) sulfate CuSO4 yields a vivid color and widespread applications. Also known as blue vitriol in alchemy and chalcanthite in...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 4, 20244 min read
Potash: Agriculture, Plant & Garden Health
Potash is a mineral group prized in agriculture, health and human life though history. Potash covers various potassium-rich salts,...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 3, 20245 min read
Iron(III) Oxide: Creation, Art & Science
Iron(III) oxide or ferric oxide (Fe2O3) yields a striking red color as a pigment, and has a wide range of uses. From industrial...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 2, 20245 min read
Silent Destroyers: Microbes of Concrete Corrosion
The microbes of concrete corrosion include bacteria, fungi and algae. Their purpose in life is to break down and decompose matter, and...
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 1, 20248 min read
11 Favorite Drawing Mediums of Artists
Drawing is a creative expression for humans since cave paintings of prehistory. In art, anything making a mark is a drawing tool....
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Sylvia Rose
Nov 1, 20245 min read
Sanguine: Red Chalk of Renaissance Masters
Sanguine is a rich, reddish-brown chalk beloved by Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo. Creating flesh-like tones in the human form...
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