How Agate is Made

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The Rockhound National Rock is AGATE.

Agate - amygdaloid Geode.


Agate - Lithophasa - Priday Plume AKA "Thunderegg."


Agate - Petrified Wood.


Agate - Dinosaur Bone

They are made of Silicon, Oxygen, Hydrogen, a little bit of calcium, iron, sulfur, and a few other elements.
Where did they come from?


There are three processes that convert hydrogen and helium into heavier elements. It starts in stars.

The first is known as nuclear fusion. It converts hydrogen into more helium.
In the core of a star, gravity produces high density and high temperature. The density of gas in the core of our sun is 160 g/cm3, much higher than the densest metal, and the temperature is 15,000,000 K (27 million degrees Fahrenheit). At this temperature, the hydrogen and helium gases become a plasma. That is, the electrons separate from the nuclei to give a mix of positively charged ions and electrons.

Under these conditions protons (H-1) react with other protons to make deuterium nuclei (H-2) and positrons. The deuterium nuclei can merge to form a helium nuclei (He-4), or they can interact with other protons to make another isotope of helium (He-3). Two He-3 nuclei can fuse to make a nucleus of an unstable beryllium nucleus (Be-6) that breaks apart to give He-4 and two protons. Energy is released at each step.

As the hydrogen is used up, the core of the star condenses and heats up even more.


The second is the triple-alpha process which consumes only helium, and produces carbon.

After enough carbon has accumulated, the third reaction, the alpha process (also known as the alpha ladder) take place, consuming only helium and the product of the previous reaction, which continues building elements up to iron.
Iron and it’s neighbors has the most binding energy (the amount of energy needed to break its nucleus apart) of all the elements.

From there on it is Fission instead of Fusion.



Stars are broken up and their substances are spread through the universe by various processes.

Every ATOM of whatever kind on Earth came from outer space !

There are Four categories that rocks rotate through:

Impact, Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic.

Most of them are made of these few elements:

Element .. Wt.% in Whole Earth .. Wt. % in Crust

Oxygen ............... 30 ................... 46

Iron ................... 35 ................... 6

Silicon ................ 15 ................... 28

Magnesium ............ 13 ................... 4

Nickel ............... 2.4 .................. <1

Aluminum ............ 1.1 .................. 8

Calcium ............. 1.1 .................. 2.4

Sodium + Potassium .. <1 ................. 4.4

With lots of Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Silicon, Agate had to happen, but HOW?

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Which category does agate belong in?

Sedimentary!

Sedimentary rocks are formed by wind or water deposition or precipitation of bits of pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living organisms. They form from deposits that accumulate on or in voids near the Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentary rocks often have distinctive layering or bedding.
Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles to settle in place.

As SiO² is the major part of Agate, how does it become a sediment?

By going into solution.
There are two ways for it to do that:
1. by being dissolved.
2. by Shock Bond Breakage.

Pure water is 50% Hydrogen ions and 50% OH ions. As they attach to other ions, they drop out of solution. whichever is removed moves the pH value either lower - more " acid" or higher - more "base."

Low pH (acid) removes Low negative atoms out of solution. High pH (base) removes High Negative atoms out of solution.

Acid dissolves sodium, magnesium, potassium, calcium; base drops them from solution.

High pH does just the opposite.

All rocks are solvent to some extent. The most solvent are revealed by allowing a drop of sea water to evaporate. The easiest to dissolve will be the first and most to come our of solution, then the next, next etc.


Solubility

Key points in Recognizing which ions will generally cause a salt to be soluble or insoluble in water.

Solubility is the relative ability of a solute to dissolve into a solvent.
Several factors affect the solubility of a given solute in a given solvent.
1. Temperature often plays the largest role.
2. Pressure can have a significant effect for gases.

Remember the saying, “Like dissolves like.” Highly polar ionic compounds such as salt readily dissolve in polar water, but do not readily dissolve in non-polar solutions such as benzene or chloroform.

Terms

solutethe compound that dissolves in solution (can be a solid, liquid, or gas)
solubilitythe relative ability of a solute to dissolve into a solvent
solventthe compound (usually a liquid) that dissolves the solute

Definition of Solubility

Solubility is the ability of a solid, liquid, or gaseous chemical substance (referred to as the solute) to dissolve in solvent (usually a liquid) and form a solution. The solubility of a substance fundamentally depends on the solvent used, as well as temperature and pressure. The solubility of a substance in a particular solvent is measured by the concentration of the saturated solution. A solution is considered saturated when adding additional solute no longer increases the concentration of the solution.

The degree of solubility ranges widely depending on the substances, from infinitely soluble (fully miscible), such as ethanol in water, to poorly soluble, such as silver chloride in water. The term “insoluble” is often applied to poorly soluble compounds. Under certain conditions, the equilibrium solubility can be exceeded, yielding a supersaturated solution.

Solubility does not depend on particle size; given enough time, even large particles will eventually dissolve.
Factors Affecting Solubility
Temperature

The solubility of a given solute in a given solvent typically depends on temperature. For many solids dissolved in liquid water, solubility tends to correspond with increasing temperature. As water molecules heat up, they vibrate more quickly and are better able to interact with and break apart the solute.

Solubility of various substances vs. temperature change - Solubility increases with temperature for most substances; for example, more sugar will dissolve in hot water than in cold water.

The solubility of gases displays the opposite relationship with temperature; that is, as temperature increases, gas solubility tends to decrease. In a chart of solubility vs. temperature, notice how solubility tends to increase with increasing temperature for the salts and decrease with increasing temperature for the gases.

Pressure

Pressure has a negligible effect on the solubility of solid and liquid solutes, but it has a strong effect on solutions with gaseous solutes. This is apparent every time you open a soda can; the hissing sound from the can is due to the fact that its contents are under pressure, which ensures that the soda stays carbonated (that is to say, that the carbon dioxide stays dissolved in solution). The takeaway from this is that the solubility of gases tends to correlate with increasing pressure.
Polarity

A popular saying used for predicting solubility is “Like dissolves like.” This statement indicates that a solute will dissolve best in a solvent that has a similar chemical structure; the ability for a solvent to dissolve various compounds depends primarily on its polarity. For example, a polar solute such as sugar is very soluble in polar water, less soluble in moderately polar methanol, and practically insoluble in non-polar solvents such as benzene. In contrast, a non-polar solute such as naphthalene is insoluble in water, moderately soluble in methanol, and highly soluble in benzene.

Is Silicon Dioxide Soluble in Water?

The solubility of silicon dioxide, SiO2, in water depends on a number of different factors, including pressure, temperature and the structure of its surface. There are more than 13 distinct structural modifications of silicon dioxide, each of which has its own level of solubility. Macrocrystalline quartz is much less soluble than either chalcedony or amorphous quartz glass.

Generally speaking, silicon dioxide is virtually insoluble in water at room temperature.

The solubility of silicon dioxide increases with higher pressure or temperatures, with the level of solubility increasing dramatically above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. When silicon dioxide dissolves in water, the reaction forms silicilic acid.

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What is the main source of Silica Gel?