Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Jasper
- This article is about the mineral. For other uses see Jasper (disambiguation)
Jasper is an opaque, impure variety of quartz that is usually red, yellow or brown in color. This mineral breaks with a smooth surface, and is often used for ornamentation or as a gemstone. It can be highly polished and is used for vases, seals, and at one time for snuff boxes. When the colors are in stripes or bands, it is called striped or banded jasper. The Egyptian pebble is a brownish-yellow jasper.
Etymology
The name means "spotted stone", and is derived from Anglo-French jaspre, from Old French jaspe, from Latin iaspidem, the accusative of iaspis, from Greek iaspis, via a Semitic language (cf. Hebrew yashpeh, Akkadian yashupu), ultimately from Persian yashp.
See also
10-26-2009 08:16:03
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details