What Is a Red Stone Crystal?
A red stone crystal, stone being synonymous with gemstone, is defined through a variety of long-standing scientific rules and classifications. These range from an analysis of its internal structure to the nature of its coloring.
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Crystal and Mineral
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A crystal is a solid that has a regularly ordered atomic structure. A mineral contains these aspects, but is also inorganic and must occur naturally. Another trait of minerals is that they are usually chemical compounds.
Coloration
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A red stone crystal's color may be due to either something inherent in its chemical makeup, or to chemical impurities in its makeup. When a crystal is colored by chemical impurity it is called idiochromatic, and when it is colored due to its essential chemical formula it is called allochromatic.
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Crystal Types
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A crystal type is defined by its axes (imaginary lines that run through its center) that are used for describing its symmetry and the arrangement of its atoms. There are six basic crystal types: isometric, tetragonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, hexagonal and trigonal.
Consideration
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Common types of red stone crystals include (but are not limited to) ruby, garnet, rubellite, rhodochroisite, spinel, carnelian, jasper, agate and sward. Some types of red stone crystal may appear to be the same, such as garnet and ruby, which have only been readily distinguished through technological advancement.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit crystals of eudialyte image by Alexander Maksimov from Fotolia.com
