What ARE Opals Made Of?

[iLander]

What are opals made of any way? I thought I read somewhere that they are a decayed and crystallized "organic material", is that right?

Were they originally like bunnies or something?

Or am I not remembering right?

What were they before they became opals?

I've seen opals that used to be seashells (apparently), are they some type of fossil?

 

[ruffysdad]

Silica, basicly. You can read that as glass, petrified wood and other silicates. The color comes from water molocules that are trapped within the structure iof the stone.

Wonderful stuff even if it may be a little on the soft side.

Clamshells are one of the ways opal forms. In a nutshell the silica leaches into the molecular structure of the organic material over time, and replaces it.

It's more complex but I don't want to write a book

Pete

 

[zeolite]

Opals are made by a very low temperature (geologically speaking) deposition, in layers, of amorphous silica spheres. The diameter of the spheres determines the color they show. Thicker spheres, of large diameter, show long wavelengths (red), while smaller spheres show shorter wavelengths (green and blue). Orange and red are less common and highly desired.

 

[Treenbean]

iLander you are so cute.....I love bunnies too.