The most colorful gemstones on Earth - Jeff Dekofsky

What gives opals their signature shimmering colors? Dig into the science of the gemstones formation, millions of years in the making.

--

In November 1986, Australian miners climbed Lunatic Hill and bored 20 meters into the Earth. They were rewarded with a fist-sized, record breaking gemstone, which they named the Haileys Comet opal. Thanks to a characteristic called play of color, no two opals look the same. So what causes these vibrant displays? Jeff Dekofsky digs into the rocks shimmering, dancing displays of light.

Lesson by Jeff Dekofsky, directed by Ivana Bonjak and Thomas Johnson.

Support Our Non-Profit Mission
----------------------------------------------
Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon
Check out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop
----------------------------------------------

Connect With Us
----------------------------------------------
Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter
Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook
Find us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter
Peep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram
----------------------------------------------

Keep Learning
----------------------------------------------
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-most-colorful-gemstones-on-earth-jeff-dekofsky
Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-most-colorful-gemstones-on-earth-jeff-dekofsky#digdeeper

Sound design: https://www.campstudio.co/
----------------------------------------------

Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Katrina Adams, Regina Post, Mary Collins, Kari Teffeau, clumsybunnie, Adam Leos, Jeremy Laurin, Cindy Lai, Liz, Hannah Nomm, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Alejandro Gomez, Tom Boman, Karen Warner, Isorn Sookwanish, Iryna Panasiuk, Diane Gallin, Aaron Torres, Janice ESL, Vasundhar, Dessislava Vassileva, Denka Wee, Daru Bhargav, Brett Kaufman, Amy, Michael Clement, Christopher Lye, Ghaith Tarawneh, Nathan Milford, Tomas Beckett, Alice Ice, Kurt Paolo Sevillano, Max Salas, Xavi Ramos, Khoa Nguyen Anh, Ron Kakar, Jennifer Heald, flra lili donti, Megulo Abebe, TAO7 HORUS, isolwi, Linh Tran, Vedasheersh, Michael Chang, Alexander Gruber, Irene Y. and Kate Sem.