Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-10-31
BUBBLES LAST FOR AGES.
They Have Been Found securely I'm.
bedded in solid Quartz. -

They Have Been Found securely Inn
bsdded In Solid Quartz,
Bubbles light as air." are not al
ways evanescent. They have been
known to endure for q, long time, and
DR.. A. A. julien of Columbia college
has In his possession two or three Of
the most wonderful minerals in the
world. sOne of them is piece of
quartz which he picked up near Co.
lumbia, n. II. This bit Of quartz Is
transparent and hasa little cavity In
its center filled with liquid, in which
a bubble of gus keeps jumping about
from side to side. The bubble Is very
small and can be seen only under the
microscope. 1t Is about one microm-
. that is, 1-25, ZOO inch in diameter, and
it daslies' from wall to wall of the
cavity in restless motion, like q no.
mad trying to escape.
This nonlad must have contlnuc,.
during the ages which have elapsed
since the consolidation Of the granite.
In other words, the little bubble was
Enclosed in the quartz several million
years ago. when all rocks were in q
molten state and the earth was in pro-
cess Of formation. Proba. y 1t has
kept in motion longer. and moved q
greater distance, back and forth, than
any other substance ON earth. The
cavity in which it moves Is about
double its size, so that the bubble
travels about 1-25,000 inch ut every
jump, and it moves irregularly
several times each second. If it has
been moving thus but twice second
for about 100000 years it must have
travelled 100000 miles. OF course
J the bubble has been, jumping about
FOR more than 100000 years. If the
estimates Of the geogolists are correct.
2 The liquid in the little cavity is prob
ably. a saturated solution of common
salt, and the gas is carbon dioxide.
Dr. julien has another piece Of
quartz, found in North Carolina,
which has a cavity holding liquid and
bubble, which is remarkable because
the bubble can be made to appear and
disappear at the will Of its owner.
all one has to do is tu breathe hard
upon it. when it will disappear. 1t Is
the heat of his breath which causes
the liquid to expand and fill up the
air bubble. OF course any gentle heat
will cause the change.
Dr. Julien has still another gas buh-
BILE, this one inclosed in piece Of
white topaz from Minas Geraes, Brazil,
which, under the microscope, shows
some wonderful effects. The cavity is
tubular and the sides or walls are
parallel to the prismatic faces Of the
crystal.
The liquid in the cavity is q quite
strong brine, with still another color
less liquid liQuid carbon dioxide) oc-
cupying q central position. Looking
through the microscope: you may see
Z the first cavity, then the denser brine
near its ends, with infnitesimal salt
!. cubes foating In 1t; hen. in the CEN
{ ter, Isinitl carbon dioxide, with
( the air bubble tut the; middle OF it The
curves of demarcation which show up
between the colorless and non-color-
less liquid are very beautiful.
1t is really one liquid floating with
in another LIQUID, and IN mir bubble
in the center, Of all. The air bubble
always floats near the upper surface
of the cavity, whichever way the min
eral is held, so that the piece Of topaz
is q natural spirit leyel.-Chicago
Chronicle