The Tidewater Prospector

Transcription

1 The Tidewater Prospector Newsletter for the Tidewater Gem and Mineral Society, December, 2017, Virginia Beach, VA PRESIDENT Robin Stoughton (757) st VICE PRESIDENT (Membership) Mike Jackson (757) nd VICE PRESIDENT (Program/Entertainment) Vacant TREASURER (Finance) Lloyd Schiffelbian (757) SECRETARY (History/Library) Cheri Jackson (757) WORKSHOPS Bill Stoughton (757) SHOWS Vacant NEWSLETTER Brooks Britt (757) FIELD TRIPS Al Dehart (757) WAYS & MEANS Roger Tiangco (757) HOSPITALITY Robin Stoughton (757) PRESIDENT EMERITUS John Mac Davis Notes from the President by Robin Stoughton I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! Thanks to all of our members who have helped out all year and supported our club! Thanks to everyone who came to last month's meeting and a big thanks to Brooks Britt for his awesome program. I would like to thank Brooks for being our incredible newsletter editor for the past 16 years and welcome Judy Hyszczak as our new newsletter editor! Judy will start as editor in January so please get all newsletter input to her by Jan. 3rd. Her is right2me03@yahoo.com. Wesley Jacocks volunteered to be our new librarian. We got permission to bring all our club books to the church and keep them there. so sometime in January we will get them out of storage and get them to the church. Hopefully by our March meeting members will be able to check out books for a month if they want to. Rosanne Hinshaw volunteered to be our show chair and is also in charge of our Pebble Pups group. Lloyd Schiffelbian is in charge of our club roster so if you have any changes in address, phone or , please let him know. We still do not have a 2nd VP, so, I need members to help out with monthly programs. I would like to thank Carl and Sandee Barton for volunteering to do our January program. Our annual club Christmas Party/ Pollyanna is this month and will be on Friday, December 15th at 6:00pm. PLEASE NOTE THE TIME CHANGE!! The club will provide the meat, cheese, veggie, fruit trays, and drinks. We ask that all members bring a side dish or dessert to share. If you want to participate in the Pollyanna, you must bring a gift wrapped LAPIDARY RELATED ITEM. NO GAG GIFTS OR JOKE GIFTS PLEASE. Hope to see everyone at our Christmas party!! Hospitality: Thanks to all members who brought snacks to last month's meeting. This month is our annual Christmas party. We ask that all members bring a side dish or dessert to share. Workshop: There is no scheduled workshop this month, however, if anyone needs to cut or polish a rock, give Bill a call at , set up a time and come by during the week or on the weekend Treasurer s Two Cents by Lloyd Schiffelbian November was a quiet month for the club's treasury. At the meeting, the paid raffle raised $51 and one new member joined the club. Please welcome Michael KENNEDY as the club's newest member! Expenses were normal for this time of year with $500 given to our club President, Robin, to buy food for this month's Holiday Party, and $367 sent to the Eastern Federation to purchase the club's annual liability insurance. Other expenses were routine and the treasury balance is about $2,563.

2 Brad s Bench Tips for December by Brad Smith Thanks for the Amazing Ride by Brooks Britt MARKING YOUR TOOLS It makes sense to mark your tools if you ever lend them to friends or take them out to classes or workshops. Question is how to mark them permanently. For metal tools, I use a very small ball bur running fast in the Dremel or Foredom to "engrave" my initials. Other times I'll form the initials with a number of hits with a center punch. But for hammer handles and other wooden tools, the country boy in me came back and thought "Why not make a branding iron?" If you'd like to try one, all you need is a little scrap copper or nickel about gauge, a piece of heavy brass or copper for a base, about 6 inches of metal rod and a piece of wood for the handle I formed my initials from a couple 4mm wide strips of sheet nickel. The "S" was one piece, but the "B" was three pieces soldered together with hard. (Remember to form the letters backwards). I then soldered the letters with medium onto a piece of 1/8 inch thick brass bar to act as a heat sink. Finally, I soldered a piece of 1/8 round rod on the back of the brass bar as a shaft to join to a wooden handle With the holidays upon us soon, we're all making our lists. If you need a present for someone who does jewelry, consider a book that teaches new skills. See a selection at Amazon.com/author/ bradfordsmith Well, in March of 2001 when I had just rejoined the club after many years absence, I talked then President Mac Davis into allowing me to take over the newsletter. I promised him a one month trial run which began with the April 2001 issue of The Tidewater Prospector. At the time I felt the newsletter was in need of a facelift. It was only in black and white and a couple of pages long at that! Here we are 201 issues, spanning 16 years, 8 months later and this is my final issue. I just felt the time was right and with my other commitments I wasn't spending the time on the newsletter to do it justice any longer. I want to thank Judy for stepping up and taking on this important task. I also want to thank the Board of Directors for their support over the years. It s amazing that during my entire run as the Newsletter Editor, the same officers have served the club tirelessly! Which brings me to my final thought for this article. For any club or organization to survive and thrive, the members have to take active roles when the opportunities arise. I am delighted that a number of members have stepped up to fill vital roles. I also hope we have someone step forward to fill the position of 2nd Vice President and Program Chair. We are one of the largest clubs in the state, certainly we can fill the positions needed to serve our membership! I will continue to be a member and attend occasional meetings. Again thanks everyone for the amazing journey and here s to the continued success of the Tidewater Gem and Mineral Society! Merry Christmas all! Page 2

3 November Meeting Minutes The meeting was called to order at 7:30pm. by Cheri Jackson Guests, visitors, and new members were welcomed. Lloyd reported that the Treasury had $3, as of the end of October. Deb Bordon donated five boxes of items to the club. They have been put up for the auction. In early 2018 we will be sorting and photographing everything. There was to be a workshop the following day and there was a sign up sheet on the front table. The Christmas Party will be on our regular meeting night this month and will begin at 6pm. The elections for President and Secretary were held. Robin was voted in for another run as President and Cheri as Secretary. Judy has stepped forward to take over the reigns of the Newsletter, Roseanne volunteered for the position of Show Chair, and Wesley took over as Librarian. It was announced that Carl and Sandee will do the January program on some of their travels. Roseanne suggested an alternative to our old Pollyanna gift exchange and the Board will discuss it further. We then had our raffle and door prize drawings. The program was then turned over to Brooks who did an informative program on blown glass marbles. He showed a couple of videos and had several gorgeous examples of this unique and interesting art form. On a personal note we want to thank Brooks for his many years as Newsletter Editor. Over the years he has given us an informative, well done, and award winning quality newsletter that has been one of the Mainstays of our club every month. He will be missed. The meeting was adjourned at 9pm. How Silicon Chips Are Made How does silicon dioxide (beach sand) become an integrated circuit, one of man s most intricate and finely crafted devices? Growing silicon crystals from a single seed crystal is the most important part of the process. This takes place in a furnace which is heated to about 1500 degrees Celsius. In the furnace is a container filled with molten silicon and a secondary element such as phosphorus or boron. The seed crystal is dipped into the molten material. It is then withdrawn with a rotating motion, similar to making candles by dipping them into hot wax. Solidifying on the seed, the molten material takes on the same atomic structure as the seed. This molecular symmetry distinguishes a single crystal from unstructured or non-symmetrical material. Using a high speed diamond edged saw, the cooled glass-like cylinder is sliced into wafers. All silicon wafers are not the same; each manufacturer s wafer vanes in thickness and surface finish due to their unique specifications. It takes about 50 complex steps to convert wafers into integrated circuits. The final step is cutting the wafers into hundreds of tiny circuits. Gems Galore 10/95 via Sooner Rockologist 4/01 via Golden Spike News 7/01 Page 3

4 Ways and Means by Roger Tiangco FROSTED WINDOW PANES!, CANDLES GLEAM ING IN- SIDE!, SWEET CANDY CANES, D O W N T H E STREETS! MERRY CHRIST- MAS YOU GUYS!!! Yours truly, is so glad to report our TGMS Club undiminished support to our Paid Raffles - for the health of our Club. Below are the gems and mineral specimens that were Won at our November 17, 2017 meeting. TURQUOISE: A hydrous basic phosphate of copper and aluminum, Turquoise form as a secondary mineral in the zone of alteration in dessiminated hydrothermal replacement deposit, but only in areas that have aluminum bearing rocks. Some specimens may show strong sky-blue color, which can be ascribed to its copper content, and is ranged with the group of idiochromatic gemstones. The winner was so excited to find out that his ticket number was picked from the jar, to win the Turquoise necklace of polished baroque-shaped beads, over 16 inches in length, with a puffed pear-shaped pendant of 32 mm x 20 mm the whole necklace weighs over 39 grams! As we have known already, over thousands of years ago, Egypt Pharaoh have venerated the captivating beauty of this amorphous gemstone, even before the Christian Era. This gemstones were mined in the Sinai Peninsula. The tomb of Queen Zur, beloved of Pharaoh Athotis, was found to have engraved Turquoise, in gold plates, bracelets and in figure carvings. Pliny the Elder in 23 AD, have called this gemstone kalos lithos meaning beautiful stone. Later times, was referred to as Turquoise, a French short name for Pierre Turquoise, as they believe it came from Turkey. Eulogized by poets as talisman of adventurers, protector of innocents and old-age link to good fortune, it was named birthstone for December-born. Turquoise if the State Rock of Arizona and New Mexico. Other best Page 4 collecting areas: California, Nevada and Campbell County, Virginia. AMETHYST: A macrocrystalline quartz, a precious, variety of quartz family. It is a constituent of Granite and Grandodiorite of plutonic rocks. The winner will now provide a new home to this beautiful rock specimen in matrix, with light violet color. The specimen was measured at 125 mm x 66 mm x 26 mm and weighing over 258 grams. Like the hexagonal pyramids of Egypt, this crystalline quartz, has light violet color, resulting not only from allochromatic pigments, but also from the ageold incidence of extra-terrestrial cosmic radiation. Amethysts occur in cavities similar to the fissures of the Alpine Mountain in Europe, As we are already aware of Veneris Gena, or Aphrodite s eyelid when held and viewed next to the light, excude or exhibit a certain purple refulgence like carbunculous gemstones having a deep rose-tint of color. Amethyst, together with series of attractive variety of Quartz, emanated mostly from pegmatitic rocks an principally from the hydrothermal phase. Best collecting areas: California, Colorado, Georgia, New Jersey and Virginia. AGATE: A variety of Quartz Silicone Dioxide, with some iron and aluminum in its lattices. Agates like Chalcedony is formed in several environments, generally near the surface of the Earth, where temperatures and pressures are relatively low. Agate is dubbed as one the Nature s most beautiful gemstone. It commonly forms in the zone of alteration of lode and massive hydrothermal replacement deposits and as bodies of chert in chemical sedimentary rocks. The winner was so ecstatic when her ticket number was called to claim the

5 prize. It is a translucent, well-polished slab and measured at 115 mm x 93 mm x 5 mm (thickness). It weighs over 106 grams - with impressive metallic Moose figure attached to it. Agate is the State rock of Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Nebraska, So, Dakota and Tennessee. Other best collecting areas: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Montana, Oregon and Texas. CITRINE: Sparkling orange-brown color of this gemstone in matrix is a sight to behold. The minute Citrine cryst a l s s p e c i m e n showed prismatic and hexagonal features. Belonging in the family of Quartz, this gemstone develop in many different environments. It is a constituent of granite and grandodiorite of plutonic rocks. It is present in rhyolite and dacite of volcanic rocks, and a very common constituent of sandstone, a clastic sedimentary rocks. The winner will now provide a new home to this gem-specimen. It measured at 65 mm x 26 mm x 42 mm and weighs over 94 grams. As we have already known Citrine crystals are often clouded, and the gemmy clear stones are very rare. Also, Citrine color can be very unstable an subject to change when heated. The yellow-reddish one, for example - sells under usurped name Topaz. Most of the gemmy Citrines came from South America. Locally, best collecting areas: California, Maine, Montana and South Dakota. ARAGONITE:A calcium carbonate, this mineral, may contain some strontium, lead and zinc. Aragonite is not a common mineral as Calcite, and it forms in fewer environments. Chemically speaking, it is the same as Calcite, but less common. Aragonite crystallizes in orthorhombic system. It occurs in evaporite deposits of chemical sedimentary rocks - where it is associated with Gypsum, Calcite, with Glaucophane, Albite, and Lawsonite in blue schists of regional metamorphic rocks. Aragonite does not cleave as distinctly as Calcite, although it also bubbles strongly in diluted hydrochloric acid. Aragonite is usually white, gray, or cream in color. The mother-of-pearl lining of sea shell, is Aragonite. Flos Ferri, is a branching growth of pure white Aragonite, in mines and caves. The winner of this gem-quality specimen, will now provide a new home to this Aragonite specimen. It measured at 40 mm x 25 mm x 25 mm, and weighs 22 grams. Aragonite was named after Aragon Province, Spain where it was first discovered. Other gem quality were found in Sicily, Italy. Locally best collecting areas: Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. FREE RAFFLES: Amethyst cab, Arseno-Calcite, Desert Rose, Quartz Crystal, Tigereye, & Vanadianite. TGMS Election Report by Roger Tiangco We at the Nominating Committee, have the honors to present to everybody the result of November 17 th Elections It was uncontested and by acclamation, the winners are: President: 2nd Vice President: Secretary: Robin Stoughton VACANT Cheri Jackson The TGMS body have decided for these strong-willed personalities to uphold and carry on with our aspirations for a vigorous and healty organization. Thank you, Roger Tiangco, (Chair.), Roger Blackman, Roger Blackman, Dianne Hinshaw, Roseanne Hinshaw Page 5

6 Tidewater Gem & Mineral Society P.O. Box Virginia Beach, Va About This Publication The Tidewater Prospector is the monthly newsletter of the Tidewater Gem and Mineral Society, Virginia Beach, Virginia, associated with the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical Societies, Inc. and the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies. Permission to copy freely granted when proper credit given to both the publication and the author. Our meeting in December is on Friday the 15th at 6:00 pm at Memorial United Methodist Church, 804 Gammon Road, Virginia Beach, VA. Note special time for the annual Christmas Party and Pollyanna! The Tidewater Gem and Mineral Society is a non-profit organization devoted to the collecting and study of minerals, gemstones, geology, paleontology and the lapidary arts as well as the love and deep appreciation of the great outdoors. Meetings are the third Friday of each month at 7:30 PM at Memorial United Methodist Church, 804 Gammon Road, Virginia Beach, VA Our monthly meetings are open to everyone, no admission is charged. Website Facebook: