Amazing picture thread

[Latindancer]

A marine flatworm :

[nidhogg]

^ A Spanish Dancer if I do not miss my guess

[misskit]

^^ Beautiful creatures.

[Latindancer]

Why the Newest Discovered Mineral Has the Science Community So Excited - See more at: http://dailylounge.com/the-daily/ent....tUayMERQ.dpuf


What exactly is putnisite? It’s a recently discovered (and especially pretty) mineral that has the science community at a fever pitch of excitement. Miners found it while prospecting for nickel and gold in the volcanic rock of western Australia. The bright purple rock caught their eyes; never having seen anything like it, the crystallized rocks were sent to labs for testing. The results proved it was like no other naturally-occurring substance, that’s stable at room temperature, can be represented by a chemical formula, and has an ordered atomic arrangement (which is the definition of a mineral by the way) and got scientists psyched.

So what’s the big deal with putnisite? It’s admittedly an asthetically appealing enough mineral, but in the age of lasers and space travel, should a rock really inspire so much excitement? After all, approximately 100 new minerals have been discovered over the past few years without any sort of fanfare. But putnisite is different from those over minerals; in fact, putnisite is different from anything scientists have ever seen before. Out of over 4,000 known minerals in the world, putnisite stands alone as being wholly unique — and entirely fascinating.

“A mineral is different from currently known minerals if it has either a different chemical composition or it has a different crystal structure, or sometimes both,” scientist Peter Elliot recently explained to Live Science. “Occasionally, a new mineral will have a chemistry that is very different to other minerals, or it will have a crystal structure that is very different to other minerals. Putnisite, a strontium calcium chromium sulfate carbonate, has both a unique chemical composition and a unique crystal structure.”

Even for those of us who didn’t excel in chemistry, the discovery of a substance never before seen on Earth is pretty damn cool. Scientists are surprised by both the makeup of putnisite, which has never been witnessed, and the fact that miners discovered it. Most mineral discoveries require specialized equipment not commonly found in mining camps, and very few minerals have been immediately noticed by the naked eye. Experts are theorizing that the location of putnisite — buried deep in volcanic rocks — plays a significant role in its unusual makeup.

“When the rocks in the Lake Cowan area were deposited millions of years ago, they contained small concentrations of strontium calcium chromium and sulfur,” Elliot said in the same Live Science piece. “Over time, weathering released these elements and concentrated them, allowing putnisite to crystallize.” This helps to explain the remarkable chemical composition of putnisite, as well as why it has not been discovered until now. Scientists are unsure if putnisite will be present at other volcanic sites throughout the world, or if the new mineral is exclusive to the Australian mines.

Nobody is quite sure if putnisite has any practical applications — after all, the mineral was just discovered. It may prove to be nothing more than another pretty rock in an appealing shade of purple. But putnisite’s remarkable makeup and unusual discovery reminds us that the world is still full of wonders and surprises — sometimes, buried beneath our very feet.

“Most minerals belong to a family or small group of related minerals, or if they aren’t related to other minerals they often are to a synthetic compound – but putnisite is completely unique and unrelated to anything.”


Putnisite combines the elements strontium, calcium, chromium, sulfur, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen:

SrCa4Cr83+(CO3)8SO4(OH)16•25H2O

The mineral has a Mohs hardness of 1.5–2, a measured density of 2.20 g/cm3 and a calculated density of 2.23 g/cm3. It was discovered during prospecting by a mining company in Western Australi

[Sumocakewalk]

Volcano Calbuco in southern Chile erupted for the first time in more than five decades on Wednesday, sending a thick plume of ash and smoke several kilometers into the sky.





article and more photos: Chilean Volcano Calbuco erupts for the first time in five decades

[Boon Mee]

Dubai From Above...

[Latindancer]

Electron micrograph of a centriole.

Scientists have discover that certain cell structures, the centrioles, could act as information carriers throughout cell generations. The discovery raises the possibility that transmission of biological information could involve more than just genes. Centrioles may actually be carriers of information, which holds profound implications for biology and disease treatment.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0424085630.htm

[misskit]

Zebrafish embryo - The zebrafish, Danio rerio, is a tropical freshwater fish originating from eastern Asia and is a member of the minnow family. The zebrafish embryo has gained ground as a disease model, an assay system for drug screening and is used in cancer research. Picture: Annie Cavanagh

[misskit]

Head louse egg attached to a strand of hair. Head lice (Pediculus) feed on human blood and live in close proximity to the scalp. They lay eggs (nits) in sacs which firmly attach to individual strands of hair near the base of the shaft. Horizontal image width is 1.5 mm. Picture: Kevin Mackenzie, University of Aberdeen

[Latindancer]

A Japanese War Bonnet

[Boon Mee]

[Latindancer]

^ Renndølsetra, Norway. About 100km south west of Trondheim





^ Chile in Summer




People with suicidal tendencies in Siberia

[Kurgen]

Nutters!

[Takeovers]

@Latindancer

Sorry, can't green you beautiful pictures.



Love green roofs. I would like to have one like this. It should keep a house cool in hot climate and warm in cold.

[Latindancer]

Just imagine what it'd be like at different times of day ! Sunrise.......sunset.........full moon on a Summer's night. Wow !

[Latindancer]

I believe it's a cuttlefish. Weird eyes.



An oasis in Libya.

[Boon Mee]

Pulpit Rock, Norway

[Little Chuchok]

Playing cricket in Queenstown

[Kurgen]

Pulpit Rock, Norway

Not a fukkin chance in hell of me stepping foot on that fukker!

[VocalNeal]

^ I'd have a crack at it!

[Boon Mee]

[Boon Mee]

[misskit]

Painful kidney stones form when salts, minerals and chemicals in the urine (for example calcium, oxalate and uric acid) crystallise and solidify. Small kidney stones are often passed naturally but larger stones can sometimes get lodged in the kidney or other parts of the urinary tract. Size of stone is 2 mm.

[misskit]

Arabidopsis thaliana flower, also commonly known as thale cress. Some of the anthers are open, revealing pollen grains ready for dispersal. Arabidopsis was the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced and is widely used as a model organism in molecular and plant biology. Horizontal width of image is 1200 microns. Magnification 100x.

[misskit]

Have you taken yours today? This is a close up image of a the humble vitamin C.