I was casually looking at things around me, and I noticed recently that most things are made from stone. Even man-made products, such as metals, are extracted from ores and refined, so most of what we see is originally made from rocks. I think that minerals, such as zinc, copper, and iron, which are nutrients, are also called minerals. If that’s the case, we can also say that animals and plants are made from stones. Stones are amazing.
https://e33clinic.com/archives/618
It is said that 80% of the Earth is made up of rock. It is true that 70% of the surface is ocean, but if you consider that there is an ocean floor and rocks below that, most of it is rock. It is difficult to pay attention to what is under the ground in our daily lives, but the land we live on every day is stable thanks to the solid support of bedrock underground.
https://telemail.jp/shingaku/academics-research/lecture/g004226
There are nearly 6,000 types of minerals, which are crystalline substances found in rocks, on Earth, and only Earth has so many types. Other planets in the solar system have far fewer types, with Mars having only 161. I think it’s amazing that we can know the composition of rocks on distant planets.
https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/66000
It seems that the existence of living organisms is the cause of mineral diversity on Earth, and the number of mineral varieties has increased as a result of minerals being oxidized by oxygen from algae, and bones being deposited to form limestone. So stones are also the result of life activity.
https://www.nikkei-science.com/page/magazine/1006/201006_052.html
As for granite, which forms a strong crust, it seems that it has only been found on Earth among planets in the solar system so far. Granite requires water to form, and one theory is that this is because Earth has an abundance of water. Granite is also a rock that contains a lot of crystal (quartz), so Earth is also a planet rich in crystal.
https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/j/column/inner_planet/01.shtml
Through stones, I feel like I have finally realized something that may seem obvious, that my body is part of the earth, and the things in front of me are also part of the earth. The existence of stones is amazing. The earth is amazing.
