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Atoms of mineral

After persisting for many centuries, chemical analysis disproved these beliefs, but during the Middle Ages a great mass of superstition and false ideas were introduced into Europe, mainly from the East. This naturally retarded the progress of science for many centuries.
Yet the atomic theory is not so new as is generally supposed. The idea that all things are composed of minute individual particles, or atoms, seems to have originated in India long before the days of the well known Greek philosophers. Kanada, the founder of the Nyaya system of Hindu philosophy, taught that all material substances exist first as atoms and afterwards as aggregates of atoms. To-day, our ideas about matter have become more comprehensive, but there is still much that requires further research and explanation.
We now regard the molecule as the smallest portion of a substance which is capable of separate existence. Molecules are further sub-divided into atoms, which may be defined as the smallest particle of matter which can take part in a chemical change. But an atom is no longer regarded as an indivisible particle of matter.

According to the present electron theory, now generally accepted, an atom in its normal state consists of an extremely small nucleus to which is attached a positive charge of electricity, surrounded by a number of smaller particles which are negatively charged. The nucleus is termed a proton, and the mass of the atom is concentrated almost entirely in this core. The surrounding particles are negatively charged electrons; these latter revolve round the nucleus at varying distances in closed orbits like a miniature solar system, and the atom is thus an exceedingly empty and open structure.

In addition, there are elementary particles of matter without any charge and of a mass slightly less than that of protons. These particles are called neutrons. There are also positrons, which have a positive charge and the same mass as electrons. The mass of the proton is about 1850 times that of the electron, although in matter the charges of the electron and proton are normally of equal value, but different in sign. The presence of neutrons accounts for the varieties of the same element occurring in forms which differ in their atomic weights. Such elements are called isotopes and their number is considerable, e.g. silica, tin, magnesium, and calcium. The behavior of atoms under certain conditions is the concern of the physicist, and our present idea of the nature and the structure of the atom is based on the work of Thompson, Rutherford, and Bohr. Any discovery concerning the composition and behavior of matter in general is naturally of great importance to those who study gem stones. The properties of stones are fundamentally the result of the arrangements of the included groups of atoms, together with their nuclei and electrons, in a normal state.

In the normal state of an atom, the negative charges just balance the central positive charge, but disturbance causes chemical and physical changes in the process of a re-adjustment. Such changes occur with all substances, especially when subjected to tremendous heat and pressure, such as deeply buried elements in the earth. In the course of such changes, the combination of a number of elements may eventually result in what we call a gem stone.

Thus below the upper soil of the ground lie various kinds of rocks, which differ vastly in composition. These rocks are made up of many minerals, each of which has an almost definite chemical composition, and through the course of some hundreds of thousands of years, Nature has gradually built up these rocks, particle by particle. For although changes go on unceasingly below as well as above us, these changes are, for the most part, very gradual.

Rocks are being constantly subjected to various strains and pressures, and it is a well known fact that the deeper one descends, the hotter does it become; in fact, the temperature increases one degree Fahrenheit for every 60 feet of descent, so it will be seen that heat is an important factor in the formation of new rocks.