News Nuggets

Newsletter of the Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club

Volume 52 Number 3

Those of you who’ve been to the Tucson shows know what I mean but for the newbies, I’ll try to explain. The term “Tucson Gem & Mineral Show” is a misnomer. At the very least you have to call it the Tucson Gem & Mineral Shows. It might be better to call it the “Tucson Extravaganza” or the “Tucson Phenomenon”, terms that I often use. It is a phenomenon. I believe that it is the world’s largest and most prestigious accumulation/conglomeration/abomination of gem and mineral shows. There is more than one site. When I started going to Tucson for the shows, there were about 20. Two years ago there were 33. Last year there were 37. And this year? – 41! This is way too many!

Few of the shows are as small as our “Treasures of the Earth” show. We will have 35 dealers in our show this year. A few of the shows have fewer dealers but most have many, many more. How many? I counted the number of booths available in the GJX (Gem & Jewelry Exchange) show. 548. Many outfits occupy more than one space so there are probably a bit over 400 dealers. OK. Then I turned the page and I FORGOT to count the dealers in the GJX Annex! That’s about 50% more. The Holidome show is about the same.

How well do all these dealers do with so many vying for the public’s ready cash? I don’t know for sure. I do know that some do well, some eke by, and others last only a year or two. I think many dealers come because if they did not, their old customers may think they retired or died. And many customers budget to buy the bulk of their goodies in Tucson so if you are not there, someone else gets the sale. Besides, it is the best place to restock your shelves, see everything else, and see and BS with all your old friends (and complain about how the show has gotten impossibly large).

It is a buyers market because of the fierce competition for the customer’s cash. You can get real good deals most of the time and fantastic deals at the end of the show when folks want to pack up as little as possible and/or make enough cash to stagger back home. Hint 1. Cash talks, and I mean greenbacks. If ya wanna bargain and can do cash, you may make out really well. Checks are usually OK but credit cards though accepted are often frowned upon. On the other hand, I sometimes come across dealers who would rather take cards than checks (because of finance charges on checks in other countries – like $20 for a $100.00 check (!), lack of an account in a local bank, or experience with bad checks). When I buy, I try to use cash if I can but if I can’t I usually ask if they prefer cards or checks. And they may want checks signed to something other than the company name. Hint 2. Prices come down if you buy a lot. Taking care of a customer buying a couple of flats of specimens only takes a bit longer than taking care of a customer buying one $10.00 rock. Many dealers post discount “rules” in their booths.

What’s for sale? Just about everything. Rocks (of many kinds), minerals (priced from under $1 to $xxx,xxx), fossils (similar range), loose gems (from schlock to high end, add another x or xx to the high end prices and yes, I am serious), jewelry (from the tawdry to the finest), chains (silver, gold, base metal), strands of beads (plastic, glass, rocks, minerals, gems – even emeralds, rubies, sapphires and diamonds), pearls (the whole range), amethyst cones (geodes/cathedrals, whatever), dÈcor items (that covers a lot), objets de arte, carvings (in wood, bone, stone, gems, rock, ivory, etc.), tools (power, hand, gem identification, scales, diamond-studded cutting), display items (cotton boxes, gem boxes, gem trays, carrying cases, glass displays for minerals and gems, plastic stands, etc.), books and magazines (and maps etc., all related to the hobby), mining artifacts, furniture (some in exotic wood and some in stone), Persian rugs, trophy animal heads, skulls of various game animal, a stuffed bison and other animals, animal hides and furs, swords, daggers and medieval weapons, butterflies and other unusual insects in framed “boxes”, et hoc genus omne. How about drugs? Sure. Gambling? I guess. A few years ago they had organized gambling in the lobby of the Desert Inn. Girls? Yes. Boys? Yep. Goats? Probably. The amount of sleaze in Tucson makes East Central look like a church aisle. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I checked out any of these latter items out personally – not even the theaters like the one _ a block north of the Mineral and Fossil Co-op. It’s not because I’m a saint (close but no cigar!) but it is because I’ve always been so very busy at the gem and mineral shows. (Ah, virtue saved by gems and minerals!)

Well, it is time for me to wrap this up. If you think this is long-winded, don’t ask me about Tucson in person or you’ll regret how much I can say about the shows. I just go on and on and…

Paul Hlava

050213

Of course the big news this month is Treasures of the Earth Expo 2005. We've waited all year and it's finally here! If you can come by and lend a hand, great! If not, still come by and check out one of the Southwest's most fun and friendly shows. Have you ever noticed how they improve year after year? Having been unable to go to Tucson this year I know that I have a serious mineral deficiency and I am really forward to making it up at our show (I'm not sure but I think I have a gem deficiency also). By the way, if you haven't signed up to help out during the show and now find that you have some extra time, there's always the breakdown at the end of the show and believe you me -- many hands do make light work...and it goes quicker too!

Coming up one week after our show is the first club field trip of the year! †(A very special thank you to Ray Demark for checking out the site beforehand). †The Saturday trip will be to the Rio Puerco in the Los Lunas area, which is very convenient from the Albuquerque area. It has been many years since the club had a field trip there and it is known to be a good collecting site. Since I am leading this particular trip I won't say much about it here other than to refer you to the field trip section.

Now then, just a few items of housekeeping... Number one, a really big thank you goes out to Suzanne Seymour who has so graciously accepted the position of club secretary. Suzanne has been filling that position on a voluntary basis since the beginning of the year and now the AGMC Board has made it official. On the other hand, it is with great reluctance that we are losing another member of the Board, Stephanie Melof, who has had to resign due to time constraints with work. Her work and attitude on the board will be missed. And last but not least, a very big thank you to Paul Hlava for running our last club meeting and being our guest speaker as well (I hope he gave himself a really good introduction). My boss at work sent me to Roswell that Monday so I was unable to attend. I understand I missed a really excellent presentation.

Well that's all for this month. †I hope to see you at the show...till then keep looking down!

Grant

President - Grant Kuck; Home phone: 323-1520; E-mail: gkuck@flc.org

VP- Membership - Kimberly Richie; Home phone: 296-8847; E-mail: cattrax55@wmconnect.com

VP-Field Trips - Ron Boyd; Home phone: 262-0053; Email: RGB417@aol.com

Secretary - Suzanne Seymour; Home phone: 877-3621; Email: suzannerox5@aol.com

Treasurer - Howard (Jake) Jacobs; Home phone: 869-1565; E-mail: goldpanjake@msn.com

Historian - Dave Moats; Home phone: 892-8163; E-mail: beepbeep59@hotmail.com

Editor - Paul Napolitano; Home phone: 856-2157; E-mail: tcot@spinn.net

Show Chair - Paul Hlava; Home phone: 255-5478; E-mail: hpf1@qwest.net

VP-Programs - Kimberly Richie; Home phone: 296-8847; E-mail: cattrax55@wmconnect.com

VP – Programs - Mike Sanders; Home phone: 256-1797; E-mail: mrsande@sandia.gov

Special Events - Orlando Garcia; Home phone: 345-0520; E-mail: jabog02@msn.com

The Club Newsletter; News Nuggets exists to assist the membership in communications and to provide information on club activities. Contributions from all members are welcome on any information that will promote club activities or that would be of interest to club members. News Nuggets is scheduled to be mailed approximately one week prior to the monthly meeting. Mail news, articles or comments to: Paul Napolitano, Editor, 7304 Yorktown, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109, or email to tcot@spinn.net.

The Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club was organized on January 22, 1944. The club is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and enjoyment of the Earth Sciences and associated subjects. Its primary purpose is the exchange of information and the furtherance of knowledge of Mineralogy, Fossils, Geology, Rock Cutting and Gem Faceting and to stimulate interest in the development of these studies.

All Meetings are held at the NM Museum of Natural History, Albuquerque, NM. The general meeting is held on the 4^th Monday of the month (unless otherwise announced) at 7:30 p.m. The Junior Club meets at 6:45 p.m. prior to the general meeting. Board of Directors meetings is held at 7:30 pm on the first Monday of each month. (Call for location). The public is welcome to both meetings.

Being a member of the Albuquerque Gem and Mineral Club does not make you an official of the AGMC. This makes it inappropriate for any member to take on any responsibility or authority for any club activity without explicit instruction from the AGMC Board of Directors.

At the last AGMC board meeting it was brought to my attention that some people have troubles with many terms I use in my Mystery Mineral column. The term euhedral was specifically mentioned. This means to me that it is time for me to redefine these terms because a lot of folks in the club weren’t in AGMC the last time I did so.

OK. So this month I’ll concentrate on hedron (pl. hedra). This Greek term refers to the faces of a geometric solid. You’ve heard of an octahedron (or several octahedra). That is a solid bounded by 8 identical faces. A dodecahedron has 12 faces (do=2 + deca=10 + hedron=face). Garnets often form as rhombic dodecahedra because each of the faces is a 60-120 rhombus (4 equal sized edges but the angles at the corners are not 90 degrees; here they are 60 and 120 degrees). A pentagonal dodecahedron has 12 five-sided faces. It is also called a pyritohedron (guess why!).

Now, the prefix “eu” means good, so a euhedral crystal is well formed and good-looking (like me!). The prefix “an” means without, so an anhedral crystal doesn’t have any faces. It is just a lumpy grain. Subhedral indicates some faces and some irregular surfaces.

Most of us would like to collect euhedral crystals for our cabinets. We often end up with subhedral stuff. The anhedral material is rough for the cabber or facetor.

Final Question - What do you call a geometric solid with 6 identical faces?

In the absence of our President Grant Kuck, Paul Hlava donned the first of the many hats he wore during our club meeting on February 28^th and hosted the introductions and welcome to newcomers and guests. The place was packed when the meeting got underway at 7:30! Though I’m not aware of any official head count, it was the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen in that room. Hopefully this increased attendance will lead to increased participation in the whole spectrum of club activities.

Paul put on his TOTE Show Chair hat and enthused about the full slate of dealers who have committed to the Show, the new display cases, and the legendary largesse of club member’s offerings at the pre-show pot luck dinner on Thursday night. Thereafter, a signup sheet was passed to for hospitality volunteers during the show, raffle table attendants (contact Rosemary Miller), admissions takers (contact Kimberly Richie), and the silent auction table (contact Dave Moats). The time slots are in 2-hour increments and come with a Fair Grounds parking pass. Last year Dave Moats handled the silent auction tables practically single-handedly and had little time to enjoy the show. Let’s pitch in and give a hand to our very hard working Historian and the guy who also selects, purchases, and brings the cool door prizes that we all get a chance at after the monthly meeting.

Gwen Poe spoke to the members about the needs for potluck volunteers. A few folks are needed before 6:00 PM to set up dining tables, prepare the food table display area, brew coffee, mix punch, etc. These same folks are the hosts and hostesses who help insure a warm welcome to dealers and club members alike. As always, the main dish (KFC chicken strips this year), dessert, and beverages will be provided by the club. If you come, bring a side dish to share with many and your own plate/utensils.

In the various and sundry show info category, it was decided that jurying of the members’ displays would be accomplished by means of voting with admissions tickets.

Mike Sanders offered the last couple of display cases to anyone who was interested. Mike also talked about a special presentation offered to us on the history and mystery of the Hope diamond that arose from Steve Attaways’ participation in a Smithsonian-Discovery Channel program on the Hope, French Blue, and Tavernier diamonds. The Faceter’s Guild will also have something special to show in conjunction with this.

Following a three-minute stretch, Paul put on his final hat of the evening as the featured speaker and began his talk titled “Tsunamis”.

Historically large rogue waves were erroneously known as “Harbor Waves”. Though tidal surges can cause some pretty large waves, it’s now known that a tsunami is generated by other circumstances. Lisbon recorded three waves of 50’ resulting in 60,000 casualties on November 1, 1755. That was most certainly not a Harbor Wave, and of course there was the infamous explosion of Krakatoa on August 26-27, 1883 at a cost of 36,417 souls. The shock waves from this eruption were largest ever recorded (estimated at the equivalent of a 150 megaton bomb) circled the earth 7 times and was heard 2,000 miles away in Australia. For more on this, read the book by Simon Winchester which is considered the seminal work. The most recent tsunami was of course the December 26, 2004 catastrophe that far exceeded all others combined in terms of lives lost and property destroyed. It was this event that prompted Paul to inform us about this subject in his talk “Tsunamis, Why they form, how they travel, what to do about it.”

Tsunamis form in response to one or more combined seismic events. Primary causes are coastal or undersea landslides and rock falls, uplift or subsidence of the ocean floor, movement along plate boundaries, and volcanic activity. The recent Indonesian event was triggered at the margin where the Indian plate subducts under the Eurasian plate. The energy from seismic events of this magnitude translates into circular patterns known as waves in the medium of seawater. They move quickly, as fast as 500 mph, in the open ocean. Although it’s only 3’ high, it may be 200 miles wide. The wavelength of a tsunami may be as much as 2 miles, whereas that of wind-generated waves is typically only 10’ to 20’ which makes it hard to detect by either ocean going vessels or by those on shore. It basically acts like it’s rising the sea level, then compresses when it meets a shoaling bottom, thus generating tremendous turbulence and sucking water up. At this point “drawback” begins and to those hapless on shore, the water recedes dramatically, revealing untold treasure. But be ye not tempted! Your only hope of survival is to seek the closest combination of height and anchorage. The water will be back in a 30 mph flash, sounding like a locomotive stampede. Followed by another and maybe another… At unpredictable intervals. I for one will be rethinking blissful beachcombing from now on.

The refreshments were top drawer as usual (especially the triple chocolate brownies) and I missed out on the door prizes again. As always, help with provisioning future meetings is needed as usual.

Thanks to Paul for his haberdasherial splendor.

Thanks also to George Schmick for sharing the samples of turquoise from the long closed #8 mine in Nevada. A rare 150 lb chunk of this material resides in the Museum of Natural History collection. Since no more can be collected, it's extra nice of him to share his stash with us. Way to go George!

From the devious mind of Paul Hlava

The Game Plan – I will describe a mineral and you have to guess/decipher/research the name of the mineral and the answers to the other questions asked about uses, history, notable facts, etc. I expect the Top Guns in the club to be able to guess the name off the top of their heads. The learners will need a reference book or two. You will benefit most if you do not ask others for the answers but work it out for yourselves. When you have decided on the name you can compare notes with others or wait for the answers to be announced at the meetings or published in the News Nuggets. Good luck and have fun.

This Month’s Mystery Mineral is a rare telluride of mercury that is found in hydrothermal veins. It is isometric – hextetrahedral but usually occurs as coarse, granular masses. Cleavage – none; fracture – conchoidal, opaque; brittle; luster metallic; harness 2.5, specific gravity 8.07, color – grayish black to black.

What is the name of the mineral?

What was the mineral named for?

What minerals are associated with this one?

What is the mineral used for?

Localities – (Just list the famous/important ones)

--NM –

--USA –

--World –

What is the name of the mineral? Vesuvianite

What is a synonym? Idocrase

What was the mineral named for? Mt. Vesuvius

What minerals are associated with this one? Ca-garnets, wollastonite, diopside and other contact metasomatic Ca silicates, and serpentine.

What is the mineral used for? Nothing

Localities – (Just list the famous/important ones)

--NM – ?

--USA – CA & New England

--World – Mexico, Italy, Quebec, Canada, Switzerland

To get to this location take interstate 25 to the Los Lunas exit (number 203) and get off on Highway 6. As you turn right and go west on Highway 6, there is a Wal-Mart (which you can see from I-25). We will leave from the west side of Wal-Mart's parking lot at 9:30 am, so do be on time. From the parking lot, it's about 14 miles to the collecting site on a sandy road. You do not need 4-wheel drive, but you do need ground clearance -- especially the last mile or so.

Don't forget to bring a lunch and plenty of water. A hat with a big brim and sunscreen are a must too. As for collecting specimens, a bucket or a bag will do. Personally, I also like to bring a screwdriver to pry up pieces, but I also hear a trowel will work as well. And it never hurts to bring some newspaper or paper towels to wrap up those really delicate specimens. There are more rocks and minerals to collect at this site than I have named -- I just named those that are more common.

If you can't make this trip but would like to go sometime, check out Gem Trails of New Mexico by James Mitchell, pages 50 and 51. Once on Highway 6 go west for 4.6 miles to Dalles road. Turn left onto Dalles and go south for 3.2 to 3.4 miles. You'll cross a number of railroad tracks. After crossing the tracks, turn right onto the road, which briefly heads somewhat west before bending around back south. From the tracks it's about 5 to 6 miles to a number of hills and mounds strewn with rocks.

The following is the tentative schedule for field trips this year. Changes may be made, so check the News Nuggets for actual dates and destinations.

March: Rio Puerco Valley, for petrified wood, agates etc.

April: Near Reserve, for faceting-grade feldspars, etc.

May: Harding Mine (and more?), to check out a classic pegmatite and maybe some of the metamorphic minerals in the area.

June: Questa Mine. Tentative at this point. Molybdenite and other minerals can be collected here.

July: San Pedro mine. Annual picnic and some great collecting!

August: Tentatively Crystal Peak, Contin-Tail show, and Ruby Mt. all in central Colorado. More later!

September: Small Fry mine in Rio Arriba Co., or Zuni Mts. Both of these localities are Fluorite deposits.

October: A geologic trip along the Turquoise Trail.

Its time to replace the 115-year-old kilogram artifact as the world's official standard for mass, even though experiments generally thought necessary to achieve this goal have not yet reached their targeted level of precision, according to an upcoming Metrologia journal article* authored by five eminent scientists from the United States, United Kingdom and France that is being discussed during a scientific meeting beginning at the Royal Society of London.

The authors of this Metrologia paper suggest replacing the kilogram artifacta cylinder of platinum-iridium alloy about the size of a plum with a definition based on one of two unchanging natural phenomena, either a quantity of light or the mass of a fixed number of atoms.

The five authors, including three from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), one from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, and a former director of the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) near Paris, conclude that redefining the kilogram now in terms of an invariable property of nature rather than a material object could immediately have many benefits. For instance, it would improve the precision of certain electrical measurements 50-fold and would enable physicists to make more precise calculations in studying the fundamental quantum properties of atoms and other basic particles. This paper reflects the authors’ collective opinion rather than the official policy positions of their respective institutions. The proposal is intended to provoke discussion of what is expected to be a controversial issue, the authors say. Any decision about when and how to redefine the kilogram can be made only by an international group, the International Committee for Weights and Measures, and finally ratified by a General Conference on Weights and Measures, which meets every four years. The next meeting of the General Conference will be held in October 2007 in Paris.

The kilogram is the only one of the seven basic units of the international measurement system defined by a physical artifact rather than a natural phenomenon. The meter, for example, is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum during one 299,792,458th of a second, and the second is defined in terms of the natural oscillations of the cesium atom. Even though the kilogram cylinder is housed in a special vault under controlled conditions at the BIPM, its mass can drift slightly over the years and it is subject to changes in mass because of contamination, material loss from surface cleaning, or other effects. A property of nature is, by definition, always the same and can in theory be measured anywhere, whereas the kilogram is accessible only at BIPM and could be damaged or destroyed.

Even though no research group has yet met this goal, the authors of the Metrologia paper argue that the time is, nevertheless, ripe for a redefinition. Due to the complex interrelationships of the kilogram with other basic measuring units, they found that for the great majority of scientific applications the benefits of using unchanging natural phenomena to define the kilogram far outweigh any drawbacks of slightly greater uncertainty in mass measurements. They propose retaining the kilogram artifact, for the time being, as the working reference for the highly precise comparisons to individual countries' national kilogram standards.

The paper proposes that the next General Conference on Weights and Measures adopt either one of two definitions for the kilogram to effectively fix its value by selecting a specific value for either the Planck constant or the Avogadro constant. Two types of experiments are leading the effort to realize either of these definitions. The first one measures a kilogram against the amount of magnetic force required to balance a 1-kilogram mass against the pull of Earths gravity. The experimental apparatus used to make the measurement is called a watt balance. A kilogram mass is placed on a balance plate that is surrounded by a coil of copper wire, which in turn is surrounded by a coil of superconducting wire. Magnetic fields produced by sending electricity through the coils push on the balance plate to offset the artifact's weight. The amount of electric current and its voltage then is used in defining a kilogram. Electrical power can be related to the Planck constant, defined as the ratio between the frequency of an electromagnetic particle such as a photon of light and its energy. This experimental method of defining the kilogram relies on selecting a fixed value for the Planck constant, which is currently determined experimentally based on the fixed value of the kilogram artifact.

The second proposed way to re-define the kilogram involves counting the number of atoms of a specific atomic mass that equal the mass of 1 kilogram. This method involves using X-rays to measure the spacing between atoms in a perfect crystal to estimate the volume of each atom, and measuring the density of the crystal and weight of the atoms, to arrive at a number of atoms equivalent to 1 kilogram. This experimental method for defining the kilogram depends on selecting a fixed value for the Avogadro constant, which describes the number of atoms or molecules in a specified amount of a substance.

Either method for redefining the kilogram would have positive ripple effects on many other physical constants such as the charge and mass of the electron. The specifics would depend on which definition is chosen. Either way, the uncertainties of some constants would be reduced to 0, while others would be reduced by factors ranging from about 7 to over 1,300, according to the paper.

Physical constants are used by scientists and engineers to make innumerable types of calculations, and also are used in designing and calibrating quantum-based measurement systems. Such systems are becoming more important in technology development and the growth of trade that relies increasingly on electronic testing, quality control and environmental monitoring. Reduced uncertainty in the values of many quantum-based constants also may stimulate new experimental and theoretical work aimed at testing fundamental theories of physics.

The last time a base unit of the SI was redefined was in 1983, when the meter was formally redefined in terms of a new value for the speed of light. In this case, the scientific community decided to fix the value for a physical constant, the speed of light, at a specific value so that length measurements could be made with greater precision. The speed of light is equal to the wavelength multiplied by its frequency. The meter previously was defined by wavelength only; the new definition was made possible by more precise frequency measurements. By redefining the meter to equal the distance light travels in a vacuum in a specific time, scientists were able to determine distance by measuring time and frequency, the two quantities of nature that can be measured experimentally with the greatest precision.

In a similar way, redefinition of the kilogram by assigning a specific value to the Planck constant or to the Avogadro constant will allow scientists to make mass calculations for a wide range of quantum physics problems much more precisely than previously possible.

The authors stress that regardless of which redefinition of the kilogram is chosen, efforts should continue to reduce the measurement uncertainty of both the watt balance and X-ray crystal experiments. Currently, both methods are 10 to 100 times less precise than the measurement uncertainty produced when comparing the kilogram artifact to national standards. What’s more, the results of the two approaches disagree by nearly 1 part per million. Eventually, when uncertainties of experiments with the watt balance or X-ray crystal density method reach a sufficiently low level, the cylinder artifact would no longer be needed.

Twice a year, the first Saturdays in April and October, the Trinity Site at White Sands Missile Range is open to the public from 8 AM to 2 PM.

DIY-ers will want to enter through the Stallion entrance, while a convoy departs from the Otero County Fairgrounds at 8 AM and travels as an escorted group. Visit www.wsmr.army.mil/pao/TrinitySite/trinst.htm for more information.

Chandler Jones

“Collecting in the Wilds of Nova Scotia”

Chandler has been a member of the AGMC since 1993, which was soon after his retirement. Although he has lived in several places in the United States, he hales from Massachusetts originally. He has a degree in Electrical Engineering, worked on a battery pack for a Mars mission, has been a Ham-Radio operator for many years, and loves Nova Scotia. He has been returning there yearly for most of his life, spending part of the year there, and the balance in Tucson, AZ, passing through Albuquerque during the treks west to east, and back. It was 1998 or 1999 when we last heard tales of New England, and we are looking forward to a refresher course!