Views : 3,477,344
Genre: Science & Technology
Date of upload: Jun 23, 2023 ^^
Rating : 4.91 (3,842/167,534 LTDR)
RYD date created : 2024-05-15T20:53:55.931059Z
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Top Comments of this video!! :3
A thunderegg (or thunder egg) is a nodule-like rock, similar to a filled geode, that is formed within rhyolitic volcanic ash layers.[1] Thundereggs are rough spheres, most about the size of a baseball—though they can range from a little more than a centimeter (one half inch) to over a meter (three feet) across. They usually contain centres of chalcedony which may have been fractured followed by deposition of agate, jasper or opal,[1] either uniquely or in combination. Also frequently encountered are quartz and gypsum crystals, as well as various other mineral growths and inclusions. Thundereggs usually look like ordinary rocks on the outside, but slicing them in half and polishing them may reveal intricate patterns and colours. A characteristic feature of thundereggs is that (like other agates) the individual beds they come from can vary in appearance, though they can maintain a certain specific identity within them.
Thunderegg is not synonymous with either geode or agate. A geode is a simple term for a rock with a hollow in it, often with crystal formation/growth. A thunderegg on the other hand is a specific geological structure. A thunderegg may be referred to as a geode if it has a hollow in it, but not all geodes are thundereggs because there are many different ways for a hollow to form. Similarly, a thunderegg is just one of the forms that agate can assume.
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For future referance, use a stationary oil or water cooled saw, ideally a diamond blade, and feed the thunder egg into because sometimes they have either common or precious opal in them which is prone to fracturing under heat, and you'll get a flatter cut right off the bat.
Looks like it was a Thunderegg from the PNW, possibly Richardson ranch which is in central Oregon. The brown is ryolite, while the translucent center is agate, that open centre looks like it had whats known as a quartz drusie (my spelling is probably wrong, but its german for sugar or sugar-like). Regardless, thundereggs are formed after the ryolite is forned and a silica rich solution enters and forms the agate in the center, you need volcanoes for this to happen too.
Thundereggs are named as such after the stories of the Thunder Bird from the indigenous peoples of the PNW. I dont remember which tribe, or if its just one of them's story.
When polishing, the ryolite will undercut the agate, ryolite is softer while the agate is essentially quartz (mohs hardness of 7)
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@KatieKatTG
10 months ago
The brown part is rhyolite and the translucent bits are silicate. Thunder eggs are so cool!
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