New Additions to The Geology Museum Collection

 Blue Agate

Rock formation of Agate is very common. It consists of Chalcedony and Quartz as primary components; it comes in variety of colors. Agate is commonly formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The use of Agate as an ornament can be dated back to 'Ancient Greece', it was used in assorted jewelry (found in various different colors) and in the seal stones of Greek warriors.

This rock is of Chalcedony variety and has a chemical formula of SiO2. On the Mohs scale of hardness, it stands between 6.5 to 7 with waxy luster and white streak. Its specific gravity ranges from 2.58-2.64 and having translucent diaphaneity. 

According to the zodiac signs Agate is the birthstone of Gemini. The color blue represents truth, loyalty and reliability. It is believed to have healing abilities by the ancient people of Greece. Healers in todays age use this stone to diagnose and treat throat related problems. Even the word "feeling blue" comes from blue's cool, sedative effect. No wonder even people who don’t "love blue" are drawn to people who do.



Halite crystal

Halite is commonly known as rock salt; halite is the mineral form of sodium chloride (NaCl). The name halite itself comes from the Greek word for 'salt'. Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is commonly colorless or white in color, but may have various colors such as blue, purple, pink, red, orange, yellow or gray depending upon the various impurities present.  

On the Mohs scale of hardness, it stands in 2 to 2.5 with a perfect cleavage {001} and conchoidal fracture. The common impurities present are I, Br, Fe, O.

Halite occurs in vast beds of sedimentary evaporite minerals that result from drying up of enclosed lakes, playas, and seas. Salt beds may be up to 350 mts. thick and underline broad area. 









By 

Shubhum Kumar Vidyarthi

Ty Geology

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WORKSHOP ON GIS

The Department of Geology organized a two day GIS workshop entitled “Learn to create your first map”. The workshop was held on 23 rd and 24 th of January 2018. The workshop was conducted by Assistant Professor Malcolm Afonso. Students of S.Y.Bsc and T.Y.Bsc from the Department of Geology participated in the workshop. The workshop was designed with a focus on imparting basic knowledge of GIS using two of the major open source GIS platforms which are QGIS and Google Earth Pro. Students were taught to digitize and prepare their own maps using data from a variety of sources including, Toposheets, GPS Surveys, Google Maps, Bhuvan portal etc. Contributor : Rizlen Quadros
Read more

Induction of the committee of Club Nebulites by the Geology Department

On 6 th August 2019, the Department of Geology - Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science – conducted the Induction of the Club Nebulites Committee. Our chief guests of honour Dr. Antonio Mascarenhas, a retired scientist from NIO, and Mr. Abhijeet Prabhudessai, member of the NGO – Rainbow Warriors, were warmly welcomed. Dr. Antonio Mascarenhas and Sir. Harish Nadkarni, HOD of the Department unveiled and inaugurated the new department logo designed by Samuel Afonso from TY BSc Geology and his cousin Jeremy Afonso which symbolises a new beginning and vision for the Department followed by recognition of the committee members by displaying their achievements and distributing their respective badges. An inspiring speech was given by the HOD to encourage and create enthusiasm among the, newly admitted, first years and a few words were shared by Samuel Afonso, the newly formed President of the Nebula club.   Soon after, a tentative planner for the academic year 2019 – 2020 was
Read more

Visit ONGC Ipshem at Betul, Goa on 24th July 2019

Image
As part of the curriculum in Petroleum Geology, the TYBSc geology students, accompanied by Asst. Prof. Mrs Swati Ghadi visited ONGC IPSHEM at Betul, Goa on   24th July 2019, for getting exposure to the work environment associated with the petroleum Industry. The ONGC unit at Betul is an I nstitute for P etroleum S afety, H ealth and E nvironment M anagement and conducts various safety training programmes for employees working on site. They also carry out Research and Development for environmental protection. The visit was organized under  DBT  Star College Scheme.
Read more