Crystals and Colour
The Colouration of a Crystal results from how it interacts with light, and this is dependant upon the atomic structure of the mineral. There are two main types of mineral colours. Ideochromatic minerals are those such as copper or chromium, who's chemical composition directly affects their colour. Allochromatic minerals, on the other hand, are coloured by small amounts of impurities, usually no more than a few atoms of some other element, that create anomalies within the crystal lattice.
In opaque stones the colours we see are those frequencies of light that are not absorbed into the crystal lattice. Where a stone absorbs all frequencies of light, it appears black. White stones reflect the full colour spectrum and absorb no light. With a Crystal that is transparent or translucent, light rays enter the Crystal Structure and are actually slowed and bent or refracted from their paths by the arrangement of atoms. Depending on how the atoms modify the photons of light, the crystal will shift a full sunlight spectrum toward the slower frequencies, thus appearing Red, or towards the faster frequencies of blue and violet.
In Allochromatic stones, the minute anomalies in the crystal structure carry different energy charges that capture proton particles and forms centres or colouration. When a Crystal's colour changes according to the angle at which it is viewed, this process is known as Pleochromism. The internal structures and symmetry of the mineral break up separate rays of light in different ways depending on where the light enters the crystal. Diffraction is where the light becomes polarized, shifting speed and frequency, and emerges from the Crystals at different angles.
The Psychology of Colour
The Human Body is intimately keyed to colour through its very evolution and colour therapy is an important method of treatment. Colour affects your personality, whether because....
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