06-24. Samsonite #7.
This 7 days tour of a Samsonite crystal unit cell was fun. A visual journey at the atomic level. The color scheme was a little stern but the playfulness of its structure made up well for it.
From a resource by Edenharter and Nowacki.
06-23. Samsonite #6.
From a resource by Hruskova and Synecek. Flight of a Samsonite crystal over the Harz mountains.
06-22. Samsonite #5.
Samsonite in a cube.
Moving from polyhedra to atoms to mineral. An unusual color scheme too, but I heard the light feels that way too over there – a little subdued, far from the equator, not too near to the pole either.
06-21. Samsonite #4.
From a resource by Bindi & Evain loosely called “the case in a Samsonite”.
06-20. Samsonite #3.
Almost packed and TSA ready! Study of a Samsonite mineral from St. Andreasberg, Hartz Mountains, Germany.
From a resource by Bind and Evain.
06-19. Samsonite #2.
Hard to be too serious with a such a name.
Surprisingly I found that the fellow who gave the name to the luggage brand did it in the early 1900s in Colorado – at the same time – that the mineral was being discovered in Germany. Was he aware of it? The story does not say, but it looks like there is plenty of room for good luggage design in the mineral unit cell!
From a resource by Bind and Evain.
06-18. Samsonite #1.
Mid-June. Many are already thinking about vacation time coming soon, I am sure. I found the perfect mineral for week #25 to prepare well for a long trip – a Samsonite!
No, not the luggage brand, but a very rare, tiny mineral found in 1910 in the Harz mountains in Germany. Who copyrighted the name first, the story doesn’t tell. My challenge for a week will be to try to pack all its atoms nice and tidy in their cubic box and get it cabin-luggage ready for a tour of the universe!
The Samsonite crystal is metallic black to steel black with no cleavage and a brittle to conchoidal fracture. It belongs to the Monoclinic group, is short, prismatic and has a symmetry of order P21/n. Because it is relatively soft (2.5 on the Mohs scale) it is of very little use for the industry. However because it is extremely rare and quite beautiful, it can be sold for thousand of dollars among gem collectors.
