What is Jasper RSS
All About Jasper: What is Jasper? How is Jasper Formed?
Ever wonder what exactly jasper is? Wonder how it forms? I get asked often and the answer is both simple and complex.
The simple answer: Jasper is a opaque silica based material with conchoidal or "shell-like" fracture (like how glass breaks) and a hardness of 7, which cannot be scratched with a steel pocket knife, just like quartz, why? it's got a high quartz content, the crystals in the material are crypto or microcrystalline quartz, so you can't see them but they are there and that is what gives the jasper it's strength.
The complex answer: jasper is NOT a scientific term. When labeling proper jaspers, scientists will label the specimen "cryptocrystalline quartz or microcrystalline quartz: variety jasper"
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