Monthly Archives: March 2014
64.WHAT MAKES DIAMONDS PRECIOUS?
Why is a diamond so precious? Diamonds, of course, are rare, and anything rare has a high value. But rarity isn’t enough. A thing must also be desirable, and diamonds are very desirable, indeed.
A diamond’s capacity to reflect light gives it an appearance unlike anything else in the world. The diamond is also the hardest substance known to man. A thing of beauty that can last for thousands of years, it has come to be a symbol of enduring love and loyalty.
63.WHAT IS THE NITROGEN CYCLE?
All living things need nitrogen in a form their bodies can use. It is important to plants and animals as well as to humans. It is a necessary part of the protein substance which is man’s body-building material. Without this substance, no one could grow or repair damaged or worn-out tissues.
While oxygen makes up only 21 per cent of the air we breathe, nitrogen makes up 78 per cent. There are about 7,200,000 tonnes of nitrogen above a square kilometer of the earth’s Surface. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that dissolves only slightly in water.
62.WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOLD AND FOOL’S GOLD?
If you’re a prospector looking for gold, knowing the answer can be the difference between being immensely wealthy and immensely poor! Many a miner has come upon what he thought was gold, only to discover that his dreams of wealth vanished when his “find” was analyzed.
What has come to be known as fool’s gold is a mineral called Iron pyrite. Since it is a yellow mineral with a brilliant luster, it can easily be mistaken for flakes of native gold in a rock.
