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Do you know silica, the tetrahedra of silicon and oxygen
constituting the crystals of New Agers and the desiccant in a box
of new shoes? It's no mere mundane mineral. As chemically reacting
silicate rocks, silica set off the chain of events known as the
origin of life. As biomineralized opal, it is the cell wall,
skeleton, spicules, and scales of organisms ornamenting numerous
lobes of the tree of life. Cryptocrystalline silica made into stone
tools helped drive the evolution of our hands and our capability
for complex grammar, music, and mathematics. As quartz crystals,
silica is impressively electric and ubiquitous in modern technology
(think sonar, radios, telephones, ultrasound, and cheap but precise
watches). Silica is inescapable when we take a drink or mow the
lawn and it has already started to save the Earth from the carbon
dioxide we're spewing into the atmosphere. This book tells these
scientific tales and more, to give dear, modest silica its due.
Do you know silica, the tetrahedra of silicon and oxygen
constituting the crystals of New Agers and the desiccant in a box
of new shoes? It's no mere mundane mineral. As chemically reacting
silicate rocks, silica set off the chain of events known as the
origin of life. As biomineralized opal, it is the cell wall,
skeleton, spicules, and scales of organisms ornamenting numerous
lobes of the tree of life. Cryptocrystalline silica made into stone
tools helped drive the evolution of our hands and our capability
for complex grammar, music, and mathematics. As quartz crystals,
silica is impressively electric and ubiquitous in modern technology
(think sonar, radios, telephones, ultrasound, and cheap but precise
watches). Silica is inescapable when we take a drink or mow the
lawn and it has already started to save the Earth from the carbon
dioxide we're spewing into the atmosphere. This book tells these
scientific tales and more, to give dear, modest silica its due.
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