Geology Myths and Misunderstandings
I was pondering the other day on common topics in geology where there are a very large percentage of people that have a geological “urban legend” for example this informative and well laid out article on where diamonds come from is a prime example.
Most people I have asked the question where do you think diamonds come from? Primarily answer coal. When asked why they thought that there was a wide range of responses ranging from “its carbon, that’s what diamonds are made of” to “black rocks that are made very hard”. After owing the article to them there was a moment of “OH I didn’t know that” and then proceeded with “that interesting”. This made me wonder if this is a way to get people interested in geology.
If anyone more has any Geological Urban Legends to share please post below!
Geology Urban Myth “Kryptonite”
ReplyDeleteRecently a friend of mine asked if there was such thing as kryptonite, as he believed there was. I did the usual geologist thing laughed and said no, probably not the best response I could have given so I did go looking for an article to put his mind at rest.
Below is an article by the BBC on a discovery in 2007.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6584229.stm
Even though the chemical composition is fairly similar to that of the fictional mineral it is missing fluorite, since this is the case is has been named jadarite after the place where the mine was located.
Another geological myth busted!
What a meteorite does before it hits the ground...
ReplyDeleteIn the movies and on television shows like Smallville, fireballs strike the ground setting houses on fire. In reality, they hit the ground cold or just slightly warm. The fireball is short-lived and last just a few seconds until atmospheric braking slows the meteor to the point where it is no longer hot enough to burn. The atmosphere is very cold and the rock quickly cools and spends three or four minutes in dark flight, virtually invisible and travelling only a few hundred miles per hour. The small ones may even bounce like golf balls when they hit the ground.
An example of the fire exaggeration is shown in the animations in the video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8qWeSTZWHw&feature=related