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A Mineral may be defined as a homogenous substance produced by the processes of inorganic nature having a chemical composition and physical properties which are constant within narrow limits. Its structure is crystalline. It is composed of the same substance throughout. Except for impurities it has the same chemical formula for all specimens of the mineral. Its atoms usually have a definite and ordered crystal structure. What makes a mineral.... (1994) Complete Story
Saving some dollars on equipment can be really helpful to a shop's bottom line. Often tools and equipment from other industries prove useful, and are sometimes cheaper than regular tool suppliers. I think this behavior used to be called 'scrounging'.... (2001) Complete Story
Noise is so common that we don't tend to think of it in terms of exposure in the same way that we would, for example, with a chemical such as benzene. Yet the treatment of hearing damage is considered to be one of the growth industries as we.... (1999) Complete Story
Asbestos is a real problem for jewelers. When I was first a student in 1974, we had a bucket of loose asbestos fibers under the soldering bench; we would take a handful and moisten it with water to form a clay-like blob to hold things together for soldering. This would be unthinkable today....
(2005) Complete Story
Fluorescence is the emission of visible light from a substance under the stimulation of radiation of a shorter wavelength. It may be stimulated by (visible) light but most useful are blue light, short wave ultra-violet (UV) light, long wave UV and x-rays. Daylight contains some ultraviolet light and some artificial light sources (i.e. photoflood lamps) put out a considerable amount of UV light. An example of the effects of such light is blue fluorescing diamonds. Diamonds which fluoresce blue in UV light may have a yellow tint to them in UV free white light which is cancelled by the blue fluorescence in (daylight) conditions.... (1994) Complete Story
