Curious About Crystals

PODCAST 190: CURIOUS ABOUT CRYSTALS

RELEASE DATE: SUNDAY, MAY 22TH, 2022

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  THE TOPIC WE’RE COVERING THIS WEEK WAS REQUESTED BY LISTENERS IN 4 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.  IT WAS REQUESTED BY LISTENERS USING E-MAIL, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, AND VOICEMAIL.  FOR ONLY THE SECOND TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE PODCAST, WE’VE GOT 5 PIECES OF MAIL TO SHARE WITH YOU… AN EPIC QUINTUPLE MAILBAG.  YOU MUST BE WONDERING WHAT TOPIC HAS SO MANY OF OUR LISTENERS CURIOUS.  HANG IN THERE, BECAUSE I THINK THIS WEEK’S TOPIC IS GOING TO BE CRYSTAL CLEAR IN JUST A MINUTE.

O:  QUINTUPLE-MAILBAG!

D:  QUINTUPLE-MAILBAG!

“HI JACOB AND OLIVIA,

WE ARE SO EXCITED TO BE REACHING OUT TO YOU.  WE DISCOVERED YOUR PODCAST AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR AND LOVE ALL THE CONTENT!  WE ARE HOMESCHOOLING RIGHT NOW, SO WE LISTEN TO YOU WHENEVER WE ARE IN THE CAR.  WE ARE CURIOUS ABOUT CRYSTALS, THE DARK, AND TRACTORS.  THANKS SO MUCH.

FROM LILIANNA (8), LINCOLN (6) AND ARCHER (2) OF THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO, CANADA”     

“THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PODCAST!  YOU BOTH DO SUCH A FANTASTIC JOB!  MY KIDS JUDAH & SHAY (SHY), AND EVEN ME TOO, TOTALLY LOVE IT.  WE LIKE TO LISTEN TO YOUR PODCAST IN THE CAR ALL THE TIME.  OUR FAVORITE EPISODES SO FAR HAVE BEEN ON THE BRAIN AND THE EPISODE ON SCORPIONS.  WE ARE CURIOUS ABOUT CRYSTALS.  CAN YOU PLEASE DO AN EPISODE ABOUT THEM?  WE HAVE A COLLECTION OF QUARTZ AND ROSE CRYSTALS AND FIND THEM FASCINATING.  WE ACTUALLY LOVE ALL STONES.  WE LIVE IN BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.  THANK YOU SO MUCH!

JUDAH & SHAY (SHY)”

“HELLO JACOB AND OLIVIA, GREETINGS FROM DELHI, INDIA.  I’M VIRAJ AND I’M 9 YEARS OLD.  I LOVE YOUR SHOW, I LISTEN TO IT EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT BEFORE BED WITH MY ELDER BROTHER.  AND I LOVE THE MUSIC YOU HAVE FOR THE PODCAST.  I LOVE THE EPISODES ON ALIENS, SHARKS, SLEEP, AND COLOR BLINDNESS.  I AM VERY CURIOUS ABOUT SMART DEVICES LIKE SMARTPHONES, IPADS, AND LAPTOPS, SPIDERS, AND CRYSTALS.  THANK YOU FOR GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT SO MANY THINGS I LIKE.  

REGARDS, VINAYAK AND VIRAJ”

“HI OLIVIA AND JACOB, MY NAME IS HARPER, AND I’M 6 YEARS OLD FROM TORQUAY, AUSTRALIA.  I LOVE YOUR PODCAST AND LISTEN TO IT EVERYDAY BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP.  I AM CURIOUS ABOUT ATOMS AND CRYSTALS.”

VM: “HI JACOB AND OLIVIA.  MY NAME IS NAIDA.  I’M FIVE YEARS OLD AND I’M CURIOUS ABOUT CRYSTALS.  I LOVE THE MUSIC IN THE BEGINNING.  I’M ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT PETRIFIED WOOD AND I LIVE IN BOZEMAN, MONTANA.  BYE BYE.”

O:  HOLY SMOKES, THAT WAS A SUPER DUPER QUINTUPLE MAILBAG.  WE ARE SO LUCKY TO HAVE CURIOUS LISTENERS ALL OVER THE WORLD.  WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT CRYSTALS THIS WEEK FOR LILIANNA, LINCOLN, ARCHER, JUDAH, SHAY (SHY), VIRAJ, HARPER AND NAIDA.  

D:  WE HAVE SO MUCH TO LEARN ABOUT CRYSTALS THIS WEEK, BUT LET’S GET THINGS STARTED WITH THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHAT CRYSTAL DOES THE AVERAGE AMERICAN EAT MORE THAN 100 POUNDS OF EVERY YEAR?  

D:  DON’T GET NERVOUS.  I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT AMERICANS EATING CRYSTALS LIKE DIAMONDS OR EMERALDS.  THERE ARE A BUNCH OF THINGS WE EAT THAT COME IN CRYSTALS.  WELL, WHILE YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT THE ANSWER, LET’S LEARN WHAT CRYSTALS ARE.

O:  ALL CRYSTALS ARE SOLID FIGURES THAT ARE MADE UP OF ATOMS AND MOLECULES THAT HAVE REPEATING PATTERNS.  CRYSTALS ARE FORMED WHEN A LIQUID COOLS AND HARDENS.  

D:  THE PROCESS OF A LIQUID COOLING AND HARDENING HAS A VERY FITTING NAME… CRYSTALLIZATION.  

O:  ONE EXAMPLE OF A CRYSTAL YOU’VE PROBABLY SEEN BEFORE IS A SNOWFLAKE.  SNOWFLAKES FORM WHEN WATER COOLS AND HARDENS.  

D:  IN THE CASE OF SNOWFLAKES, THE MOLECULES IN THE ICE CRYSTALS COME TOGETHER IN A PATTERN TO FORM SHAPES WITH SIX SIDES AND SIX CORNERS… A HEXAGON. 

O:  VERY VALUABLE CRYSTALS, LIKE DIAMONDS, EMERALDS, AND RUBIES, FORM WHEN LIQUIDS COOL.  

D:  DIAMONDS, FOR EXAMPLE, ARE FORMED DEEP BELOW THE EARTH’S SURFACE.  IN ORDER FOR DIAMONDS TO FORM, THERE NEEDS TO BE EXTREMELY HIGH TEMPERATURES AND PRESSURE.  PERFECT CONDITIONS EXIST IN A LAYER OF THE EARTH CALLED THE MANTLE.  THE PART OF THE MANTLE THAT IS FAVORABLE FOR DIAMOND FORMATION IS ABOUT 90 MILES BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH, WHERE TEMPERATURES REACH OVER 2,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT, OR OVER 1,000 DEGREES CELSIUS.  

O:  THE DIAMONDS ARE THEN DELIVERED TO THE SURFACE BY DEEP SOURCE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS.    

D:  IN THOSE ERUPTIONS, CHUNKS OF MANTLE FROM BELOW THE SURFACE RISE UP TO THE SURFACE QUICKLY.  IF YOU EXAMINE SOME OF THE LAVA ROCK THAT FORMS DURING DEEP SOURCE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS, IT’S QUITE POSSIBLE YOU MIGHT COME ACROSS A VARIETY OF CRYSTALS.  THESE TYPES OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS ARE VERY RARE.  

O:  DIAMONDS ARE ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE CRYSTALS ON EARTH.  YOU MAY REMEMBER FROM THE EPISODE CURIOUS ABOUT ROCKS THAT DIAMONDS ARE ACTUALLY THE HARDEST SUBSTANCE ON EARTH.  THE ONLY THING THAT CAN CUT A REAL DIAMOND IS ANOTHER REAL DIAMOND.  PLEASE DON’T TRY TO EXPERIMENT.  JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT.  

D:  BECAUSE CRYSTALS FORM FROM MOLECULES THAT COME TOGETHER IN A REPEATING PATTERN, THEY USUALLY FORM ONE OF 7 DIFFERENT SHAPES. 

O:  THEY COULD BE A CUBIC SHAPE, WHICH MEANS THEY LOOK LIKE A BOX, WITH 6, 8, OR 12 SIDES.   

D:  THEY CAN ALSO BE TRIGONAL, MEANING THEY HAVE 3 SIDES, OR THEY CAN BE HEXAGONAL, LIKE A SNOWFLAKE, HAVING 6 SIDES.  

O:  THEY CAN BE MONOCLINIC, MAKING THEM MORE RECTANGULAR IN SHAPE. 

D:  THEY CAN BE ORTHORHOMBIC, TAKING THE APPEARANCE OF TWO TRIANGLES STUCK TOGETHER.  

O:  THEY CAN BE TETRAGONAL, MEANING THEY LOOK A BIT LIKE A CUBE, BUT ONE SIDE IS LONGER THAN THE REST.  

D:  FINALLY, CRYSTALS CAN BE TRICLINIC, MEANING THAT THEIR SHAPE IS MOSTLY RANDOM AND THEY CAN’T BE CLASSIFIED IN ANY OF THE OTHER CATEGORIES.  

O:  EVEN THOUGH CRYSTALS CAN HAVE BUMPY SURFACES, CRYSTALS OFTEN HAVE VERY FLAT SURFACES THAT ARE CALLED FACETS.  

D:  CRYSTALS ARE BEAUTIFUL TO LOOK AT, MAKING THEM PERFECT FOR JEWELRY, BUT CRYSTALS HAVE OTHER INTERESTING USES TOO.

O:  QUARTZ CRYSTALS CAN BE USED IN WATCHES AND OTHER ELECTRONICS TO HELP KEEP TIME.  

D:  THE WAY QUARTZ WATCHES WORK IS FASCINATING.  THERE IS A TINY QUARTZ CRYSTAL INSIDE A QUARTZ WATCH THAT GETS ELECTRICITY FROM A BATTERY IN THE WATCH.  WHEN A QUARTZ CRYSTAL IS ACTIVATED BY ELECTRICITY, IT OSCILLATES.  THAT’S JUST A FANCY WORD FOR VIBRATING BACK AND FORTH.  IT OSCILLATES VERY QUICKLY AND VERY PRECISELY.  IT OSCILLATES EXACTLY 32,768 TIMES PER SECOND, EACH AND EVERY SECOND.  THE ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT IN THE WATCH COUNTS THE NUMBER OF VIBRATIONS AND USES THEM TO SEND PULSES AT A RATE OF ONE PER SECOND.  THESE PULSES WILL EITHER CHANGE THE NUMBER ON THE WATCH DISPLAY IF THE WATCH SHOWS THE TIME NUMERICALLY, OR IT WILL SLOWLY TURN A GEAR IN A WATCH THAT HAS HANDS TO SHOW HOURS, MINUTES, AND SECONDS.  

O:  IT’S MUCH BETTER THAN NON-QUARTZ WATCHES THAT RELY ON A PENDULUM OR GRAVITY TO WORK CORRECTLY.

D:  A BIG PROBLEM WITH THOSE WATCHES IS THAT YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER TO WIND THEM.  I USED TO HAVE A WATCH LIKE THAT WHEN I WAS A LOT YOUNGER.  IF YOU FORGET TO WIND THEM FOR TOO LONG, THEY JUST STOP WORKING UNTIL YOU WIND THEM AGAIN, BUT OF COURSE YOU NEED TO CORRECT THE TIME AND  WIND THEM SO THEY WORK AND SHOW THE CORRECT TIME.  QUARTZ WATCHES ARE MUCH MORE PRACTICAL.  

O:  CRYSTALS ARE ALSO USED TO MAKE LCD SCREENS.  THE ACRONYM LCD STANDS FOR LIQUID-CRYSTAL DISPLAY.  LCD TECHNOLOGY IS VERY COMMON IN TELEVISION AND COMPUTER SCREENS.  

D:  LIQUID CRYSTALS CAN BE FOUND INSIDE THE DISPLAYS FOR LCD ELECTRONICS.  THERE IS A BACKLIGHT THAT IS USED TO LIGHT UP THE LIQUID CRYSTALS.  DEPENDING ON THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE LIQUID CRYSTALS IN THE DISPLAY, A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF LIGHT COMES THROUGH.  THE IMAGES WE SEE COME FROM THE AREAS OF THE DISPLAY WHERE THE LIQUID CRYSTALS BLOCK THE LIGHT FROM COMING THROUGH.    

O:  MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT CRYSTALS HAVE HEALING POWERS TOO.  

D:  FOR EXAMPLE, THE CRYSTAL JASPER IS THOUGHT TO HELP WITH STRESS.  

O:  RUBIES, ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE BELIEVED TO INCREASE ENERGY.  

D:  CRYSTALS ARE VERY VERSATILE, BUT THERE’S SOMETHING INTERESTING THAT DOESN’T INCLUDE CRYSTALS… CRYSTAL GLASS.

O:  THAT’S BECAUSE GLASS DOESN’T HAVE ATOMS AND MOLECULES ARRANGED IN A PATTERN… THE ARRANGEMENT OF ATOMS AND MOLECULES IN GLASS IS MORE RANDOM.  

D:  ALRIGHT OLIVIA, LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHAT CRYSTAL SHOWS UP IN SO MANY FOODS, THAT AMERICANS EAT AN AVERAGE OF MORE THAN 100 POUNDS OF IT YEARLY?

O:  THE AVERAGE AMERICAN EATS ABOUT 130 POUNDS WORTH OF SUGAR EVERY YEAR, AND SUGAR IS A CRYSTAL.

D:  SO IS SALT, AND I WOULD BET WE DO A PRETTY GOOD JOB EATING LOTS OF SALT AS WELL.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  190 - CRYSTALS.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB TO LILIANNA, LINCOLN, ARCHER, JUDAH, SHAY (SHY), VIRAJ, HARPER AND NAIDA FOR THE SPARKLY EPISODE TOPIC SUGGESTION.  GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT CRYSTALS WAS A WHOLE LOT OF FUN.  BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYE, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF PEOPLE TO THANK.  

O:  THANK YOU TO OUR NEWEST PATREON SUPPORTERS, VIDHI S. AND JORDY AND EVAN B.

D:  A BIG THANKS TO VIDHI, JORDY, AND EVAN FOR YOUR SUPPORT.  YOUR SUPPORT MEANS TO MUCH TO US.  WE CAN’T THANK YOU ENOUGH.

O:  WE ALSO WANT TO THANK USERNAME JJPOLZ FOR THE 5 STAR REVIEW.

D:  IT SAYS “WE LOVE YOUR PODCAST SO MUCH!!!!! YOU DO A GREAT JOB!  WE LIKE THAT THE EPISODES ARE SHORT BUT GIVE US SO MUCH INFORMATION.  WE’VE TOLD A LOT OF FRIENDS TO START LISTENING.  SO MANY OF THE TOPICS ARE THINGS WE REALLY REALLY LIKE!  MY MOM ENJOYS LISTENING TO THEM TOO.  THANK YOU!”

O:  YOU’RE SO WELCOME.  THANK YOU FOR LISTENING, AND THANK YOU FOR TELLING YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT US.  

D:  FEEL FREE TO LET YOUR FRIENDS KNOW THAT NEXT WEEK, WE WILL BE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT CHEWING GUM FOR LISTENERS IN SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA AND VANCOUVER, CANADA.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.