Diamonds are forever. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.
These two memorable lines are often used for marketing purposes by diamond merchants so that people are lured in to buy diamonds or some type of jewelry with diamonds in them. But did you know the sparkling white mineral is the hardest known on Earth? Hardness, as defined by geologists, is a mineral’s resistance to scratching. Diamonds cannot be scratched or cut by anything [known] except other diamonds. Many people who have a diamond ring on their finger don’t even know this incredible fact about the jewelry they are wearing.
Still, the dazzling appearance is what most people value the most about diamonds. I guess it’s not too surprising either, considering what a loose diamond can end up looking like when cut by a professional:
Loose Diamond
Choosing a diamond for a loved one can be an overwhelming process. It’s important to know the size (in carats), shape, color, and cut that the recepient will want before making the purchase. Obviously in some cases that information will not be something you can ask ahead of time (especially if you want it to be a surprise), but in these situations jewelers can help you find a great looking generic diamond that would be appreciated by anyone. However, if you can find out what the necessary specifications of the diamond are beforehand, you should considering how much of a large investment it will end up being. A diamond consultant will also be a great help to you regardless if you know what you want to buy or not.
Admittedly, it has been difficult to come across many damage reports from the magnitude 5.8 earthquake that struck the region earlier this afternoon, but I did come across this one:
The location of this video wasn’t terribly close to the epicenter and yet still has extensive roof damage. It demonstrates the importance of building codes and shows how structures designed without earthquakes in mind will fair when one actually does occur.
Just a few minutes ago (around 1:50 PM EST), a powerful 5.8 earthquake struck central Virginia near Richmond. Here in central Maryland it woke me up and my apartment started shaking pretty hard after a tame rumbling. The whole thing lasted about a minute total. The cool thing is I was talking to someone in NYC at the time who didn’t believe me that an earthquake was happening and then about one minute after it stopped here, it started there. Pretty cool to accidentally measure the travel time of the quake like that.
Anyway, the epicenter of the quake was on top of a nuclear power plant in Virginia but no one important seems to be concerned about that so whatever. Damage wise there wasn’t anything around here as far as I know, but there are reports of some ceiling collapses in Annapolis, MD. I’m a bit curious as to the damage where the epicenter was, because it was the shaking was powerful where I live, and I’m not even that close to the center. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Edit: Epicenter was on farmland, so there was nothing to be damaged in the area except corn.
Hawaii is renown for its tropical beauty in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But did you know that Geologically speaking, Hawaii is also one of the most interesting places in the world? This is because Hawaii is what Geologists call a “hot spot,” which is essentially an island created by a constant flow of volcanic plumes from the mantle. The reason why this is interesting is because the plume is underneath the Pacific plate, and as the plate moves, the hot spot is what appears to move on the surface. Bear in mind that most of this is hypothetical, but this is generally what scientists have deduced from research.
Take a look at this map of the Pacific Ocean:
Hawaiian Island's Movement Visible on Google Maps
You can see that at one point, the Hawaiian islands existed near the aleutian islands in Alaska. Over time, the Pacific plate pushed northward (or the hot spot moved south), until some global phenomenom caused the plate to jerk into another direction. From this cataclysmic event, the Hawaiian islands moved east-southeastward until their current position today.
Interestingly enough the lava flows found in Hawaii are not dangerous, and while constant eruptions take place, they are generally known to be tame and predictable. This is why it’s safe to invest in real estate in hawaii; the homes in the area can be built in locations that are no longer affected by lava flows. Additionally, the volcanoes known for violent eruptions such as Mt. St. Helens in Washington are created when one tectonic plate is submerged under another plate (called subduction zones). Because there is no subduction zone in Hawaii, there is no risk of violent volcanic eruptions. This essentially makes Hawaii a completely safe paradise to live or visit.
As you may or may not have heard, recent heavy rainfalls have caused the Mississippi River to flood at record levels. The flooding has been so severe in some cases that the tributaries that normally flow into the Mississippi have been flowing backwards. Here’s a map depicting the amounts of rain that have fallen in the area:
Flooding Rain Map (Midwest)
Here’s another good photo from Memphis:
Mississippi River flooding Memphis, TN
Even though it’s terrible that so many communities are being damaged by the flood waters, I have a real hard time feeling sorry for them. The Mississippi River is known its floods, such as the Great Flood back in 1993. Geologists I’m sure are aware of the dangers building next to rivers, especially this one, yet people do it anyway. It’s kind of like the people who build on fault lines in California and then cry when earthquakes come along and knock down the buildings. Despite this I’m sure some global warming lunatic will come along and claim the blame is rising temperatures, and not simply the poor choice of location when they were creating the communities that are now flooded. The exception to this is of course the farmers, since the land in the flood plain is known to be good for farming.
I think the bigger story in all this was the decision to blow up a levee designed to protect some communities and farmland from the flooding. The idea is to flood certain areas (mostly farmland) to prevent other areas (the city of Cairo) from flooding. Seems weird to me, but apparently its something they’ve planned in advance for times like this. To break the levee they needed to use explosives:
Birds Point levee on the Mississippi River Blown Up
Supposedly the explosion was big enough that it was heard and felt miles away in different directions.
A lot of discussions I’ve read online have suggested the city of Cairo is dying and should have been left to flood instead of ruining so much farm land. One user posted some pictures of the dying city:
Cairo, IL
Cairo, IL
Cairo, IL
Cairo, IL
Looking at the pictures of this ghost town, I’d agree that city probably isn’t worth sacrificing that land for, but apparently the states agreed beforehand that they would sacrifice the farmlands to save Cairo if this flood situation ever arose.
