Mineral Cup Round 1: Arsenuranospathite vs Corundum
The rare vs. commonplace continues with a German #DoNotLick mineral up against beautiful and useful ruby!
Arsenuranospathite vs Corundum
ARSENURANOSPATHITE
This Black Forest mineral is chock full of fun and deadly elements - uranium and arsenic join the cast of aluminum, iron, oxygen, and hydrogen.
Name: The arsenic analogue to uranospathite (itself named for its uranium content and spathe/sword-like crystals).
Bling: A winner for anyone who likes bladed crystal habits.
Uses: None (yet?).
Team DO NOT Lick! It has arsenic AND is radioactive (radioactive)! What more could you want?
BLFrank. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
CORUNDUM
This gemstone nearly maxes out the hardness chart and has its own catalogue of delightful trace minerals that give it its rainbow hues.
Name: From the Tamil kurundam, for ruby-sapphire.
Bling: We've got red, we've got blue, we've got black, we've got white, you stick an element in here and we've got a color for you! Shines up pretty and holds carvings like a dream.
Uses: If you have a pincushion with a strawberry, you already know and love corundum. It's also used in lasers, watches, and spacecraft windows!
Team Lick: A non-toxic, though tasteless, lickable rock.
Géry PARENT. Public domain.
Chip Clark, Smithsonian staff. Public domain.
