Tourmaline's ability to come in all rainbow colors comes from her being a range of chemical compositions. She occurs most often in granite pegmatites containing boron. It seems that dikes (fracture shears holding back pressure or magnetism) occur in Mom's rock layers. These dikes allow liquid magma to creeps up and into them for miles (hydrothermal veins). After all the beryls and the small tightly structured crystals form, the goo that's left over cools into a complex borax lattice with seven different metals causing all the colors. Iron makes blacks, lithium makes red/pink and Mn, Cr, V, Ti & Cu in infinite combination color our crystal rainbows. Scientist say tourmaline is order brought to chemical Chaos ~ the structured crystalline insanity of cooled left overs! An incredible interesting article is MG-FE2+ PARTITIONING INVOLVING TOURMALINE IN METAPELITIC ROCKS: BRINGING DISORDER FROM CHAOS HENRY, Darrell J. and DUTROW, Barb L., Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, glhenr@unix1.sncc.lsu.edu and GUIDOTTI, Charles V., Dept. of Geology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5711. Tourmaline holds most of the boron in the Earth's crust and is stable to well over 800 C and 60 kbar.
Colored tourmaline is called Elbaite (original ancient source being the Island of Elba, Italy). Elbaite is broken down into achroite (colorless), rubellite (red), indicolite (blue) and verdelite (green/yellow). Many other names exist like watermelon (pink/white/green like a slice of watermelon) or Paraiba tourmaline from Paraiba Brazil (most beautiful blues). Rare Alexandrite tourmolines change colors in different heats and lights (piezoelectric/pyroelectric properties).
Schorl (Black Tourmaline) has long been used by African, Native American and Aboriginal shaman as a protective stone against negative spells. When found as inclusion in Quartz, it was said to not only break spells, but to energize the "victim" and enhance their well-being! Used with Mica, the black is said to return a negative energy from whence it came, along with providing a view of the sender. Recognized as the "Teller" stone by many cultures, she provided insight during times of difficulty or struggle and aided in "telling" who/what was causing a problem. She was most valued for the grounding of spiritual energies. In Victorian England schorl became big as mourning jewelry. She became patriarchally "useful" during and after WWII ~ pressure sensitive gauges, submarine instrumentation and "secret" war equipment. Post WWII German jewelers immigrated into the Minas Gerais State (Brazil) and began mining. Today, these mines produce the planet's most beautiful specimens (setting the planetary standard).
She is, both, piezoelectric and pyroelectric allowing many scientific and technological uses. By simply applying a pressure to one end of a crystal an electrical charge is induced (piezoelectricity). Pyroelectricity occurs when a crystal is heated yielding a positive charge at one end and a negative at the other. These charges reverse instantly if the crystal cools. Mere rubbing imparts a charge that creates a polarized crystalline magnet that attracts both light and ashes. In the Netherlands, she is used to clean ashes from pipes! Tourmaline naturally polarizes light and was the model for fiber optics.
Tourmalines are said to enhance one's understanding, increase self-confidence and amplify one's psychic energies. Many health professionals now use tourmaline in relaxing the body/mind energy fields! Specific colors have specific properties. Black magnetically absorbs negative energies from any electrical/magnetic field (living or not). Blue is said to free one's communication skills and intuition. Green/yellow is linked to success, prosperity and peaceful sleep. Pink-Red-Purple inspire loves, spirituality/creativity and promote heart wisdom. Watermelon is said to be very effective in helping one to recover from emotional problems ~ blending the properties of pink & green tourmalines (or colors present). Because tourmaline vibrates in electrical fields, she will vibrate when placed in any human/living electrical field. This vibration can knock loose many nerve/energy blockages. She will rearrange/polarize most small electrical fields ~ like the ones in the human body. New Agers say "tourmaline allows one to integrate the chaos of the spiritual and physical worlds into one clarity of purpose" ~ maybe, just as tourmaline brings order to a chaos of elements during her formation.
Now that we understand how Hot Magnetic Dikes create Rainbow Rock ~ from the Goddess Chaos !!!, we can appreciate the Kremlin's carbuncle ~ tourmaline crystal balls (impossible) formed in volcano craters. This is one of Earth's most unique/magical things ~ breaking all the rules for light/electricity/magnetism! Please check one out: The Kremlin's Carbuncle Maximilian Glas. Inclusions in Elbaite Crystals John I. Koivula. If Icarus Had a Tourmaline Maximilian Glas ...
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Blessings!