How is the rain flower stone formed? Will pebbles become raindrops?

Shi Yuhua is mainly composed of silicon dioxide, and the red components are iron ions and ferrous ions. Rain flower stones are pebbles made of agate, opal, chalcedony, timely, etc., which are mostly found in the sediments of river beds and river terraces, among which the most famous is the rain flower stones produced in Yuhuatai, Nanjing. Rain flower stones are divided into fine stones and coarse stones. The fine products are mainly agate, with delicate stone, bright color, high roundness, crystal clear and lovely. Coarse stones are coarse in texture, mainly seasonal or metamorphic rocks, with low value. Beautiful rain flower stones can often present various landscapes, figures, birds and animals, trees and other scenes, which makes people daydream and think deeply.

Because there are many kinds of rain flower stones, their genesis and chemical composition are extremely complicated. Take agate gravel as an example, it comes from native agate. It is generally believed that primary agate is formed by residual hydrothermal solution of magma. This hydrothermal solution is filled in the gaps of volcanic rocks, such as basalt and rhyolite. Because of the different shapes of the gaps, agate balls or agate veins are formed. After the action of natural forces, the original agate fell off, and then was hit by mountain torrents, carried by running water and ground into pebbles. This is what we see in the gravel layer.

Rain flower stones are famous for their peculiar patterns and colorful natural beauty. Its ring pattern is surrounded by silica gel around cracks and holes in volcanic rocks, starting from the inner wall and deposited layer by layer from the outside to the inside. During its growth, periodic diffusion of colored ions and compounds often occurs. The main chemical composition of primary agate is silicon dioxide, followed by a small amount of iron oxide and a small amount of elements and compounds such as manganese, copper, aluminum and magnesium. They have different pigments, such as latosolic red iron, blue copper, purple manganese, yellow colloidal chalcedony, emerald green minerals and so on. Due to the different types and contents of these pigment ions dissolved in silica hydrothermal solution, they present a variety of colors with different shades, making the rain flower stone beautiful.

■ How to tell the true and false rain flower stones?

The stock of yuhua stone in geology and mineral resources has been very limited, and the crazy unprotected mining in recent ten years has led to less and less yuhua stone. In the past, when we were young, we could look for many rain stones at the foot of the mountain. It's almost impossible now. So now the rain flower stones are more and more expensive, and things are rare.

So, what are the characteristics of the real rain flower stone?

1 Color: Rainflower Stone is a natural fossil, just like amber. You can see many natural shapes and colors on this stone. Now stripes can see more shapes, and the colors are mostly yellow, red and green. If there are landscapes or figures in the rain flower stones, it will be a very expensive and precious product, which is very rare.

Shape: Everyone has seen stones. Stones can't have regular shapes. Rain flower stones are mainly irregular ovals with different thicknesses. In a word, nature must be irregular.

Hardness: The composition of rain flower stone is mainly silicon dioxide, so the hardness is extremely high. Well, you can't touch stones and eggs, hehe.

4 weight: the stone must be very heavy, and you can feel it in your hand.

Characteristics of fake rain flower stones:

1 made of artificial glass and resin: things made of glass are easily broken, with regular shapes (such as spheres) and patterns, without any natural traces. The fake resin makes it easier to distinguish. Generally, the fake rain flower stones sold in the market are round transparent sheets with some patterns and soft texture. The package is a plastic bag.

2. Pebbles are used as rain flower stones: This kind of fake stone is more common in the market, because pebbles have the characteristics of most rain flower stones. The main way to tell the difference is to look at the color. Pebbles are shapeless, usually dark red or dark lumps, so pebbles have no ornamental value. They can only be used as stones, such as paving roads in parks, which can be seen in most areas now.

Rain flower stones are beautiful. I hope more and more friends like it. I hope I can tell the truth at a glance through my introduction.

In addition, most of the stones in the rain flower stone gift box sold in the general market are polished, because the rain flower stone has no regular shape and needs to be polished into a more suitable shape to adapt to people's aesthetics and facilitate packaging. Polishing makes the surface of yuhua stone smooth and shiny, and it does not need to be stored in water.