Ice on an autumn leaf (Derbyshire, UK) Have you ever woken up on a cold morning, and admired the intricate, delicate ice crystals that grew on your windowpanes overnight?
You may not have known that you were witnessing the growth of a mineral, right in front of your very eyes. The definition of a mineral is "a naturally occurring inorganic substance with a definite chemical composition and a regular internal structure."
Liquid water is not a mineral, since it has no crystal structure, but when it freezes, it becomes crystalline. However, the definition includes "naturally-occurring" - so, technically, the ice in your freezer is not a mineral, but what you scrape of your car windshield in the morning is.
You may not have known that you were witnessing the growth of a mineral, right in front of your very eyes. The definition of a mineral is "a naturally occurring inorganic substance with a definite chemical composition and a regular internal structure."
Liquid water is not a mineral, since it has no crystal structure, but when it freezes, it becomes crystalline. However, the definition includes "naturally-occurring" - so, technically, the ice in your freezer is not a mineral, but what you scrape of your car windshield in the morning is.
Fernlike ice fronds on a fence post (Derbyshire, UK) You'll find ice in a dazzling array of different crystal forms, from these feathery, fern like patterns to the solid sheets on top of a winter puddle, and the myriad shapes of a snowflake. If it were not for its unfortunate tendency to melt, it would surely be widly collected - few other minerals can match the delicate intricacy and variety of an ice crystal.
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