Minerals guide: Geology 3.8.5

A comprehensive encyclopedia, "Minerals Guide: Geology Toolkit," serves as a thorough handbook of terminology, covering essential terms and concepts for geologists and enthusiasts to analyze and explore minerals, rocks, gemstones, and crystals.

Mineralogy, a specialized branch of geology, delves into the scientific study of mineral chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties, encompassing mineral origin processes, classification, geographical distribution, and utilization.

Identifying minerals typically involves examining their physical properties, from density and mechanical cohesion to visual characteristics like luster and color. Crystallography, the study of crystal formation and structure arrangement in crystalline solids, is fundamental in materials science and solid-state physics.

Some minerals are chemical elements such as sulfur, copper, silver, and gold, while most are compounds requiring methods like wet chemical analysis for identification. Gemstones, cut and polished crystals used in jewelry, vary in hardness and aesthetic value based on rarity and physical properties.

Gold, a chemical element denoted by the symbol Au with atomic number 79, is a soft, malleable metal prized for its aesthetic appeal. With around 4000 different stones, each boasting unique physical attributes like color, streak, hardness, and specific gravity, the guide offers offline access with advanced search features and hundreds of illustrative examples.