FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[trtlman]

I recently read somewhere that scientists discovered rocks and minerals are not dead matter but they are in fact alive. Granted I did read this while reading about crystal healing which is why I doubt the claim. I figured since there are many of you here who have advanced degrees in the subject of minerals that you could help sepperate fact from fiction on the matter. And to be clear I am not a believer in crystal healing, I was reading the article just for informative purposes. Though I don't believe in it, the idea of crystal healing and why people believe in it has always interested me

[Tobi]

I am not a natural scientist, but i dare to say that minerals are NOT alive. We all love them and make them our passion, but they are dead matter, they always were and they always will be.

Even organic material like amber - which isn't even a real mineral - was only PART of a living creature, not alive itself.

[Jean Sendero]

you must be joking?
J

[trtlman]

That is pretty much what I figured but everytime I hear "scientists have said" I always want to check out. I find it fascinating how so many people are misled into the beliefs of crystal healin and thinking of minerals as being alive. But what about the claim of minerals containing energy? I have tested stones before and found no energy source in them, atleast not any electrical energy source.

[Carles Millan]

Crystals grow from nothing, crystals often get sick, sometimes even are attacked by bacteria, and eventually crystals die. The difference is that they usually live much more than a million years.

[trtlman]

[Carles Millan]

[Tracy]

[trtlman]

Thank you both, great information. I wish I took some broder science classes in highschool, then perhaps I wouldn't sound like such a moron lol. I was always into animal sciences and never paid much attention to physics, geology, chemistry or other such sciences. then again the purpose of science is to learn so I would say I'm doing pretty good so far :)

[Carles Millan]

[GneissWare]

[Carles Millan]

[mjbainbridge]

What "scientists say" is also often misquoted, misunderstood, and/or misrepresented.

[Tracy]

[GneissWare]

[Tracy]

I yield! :)

- Tracy

[chris]

While talking about mineral diseases, what about light exposure? I'm sure some of you experienced it with vivianite, orpiment, realgar, fluorite...

I agree with Tracy, iron is more dangerous than sulfur, just as realgar cinnabar or orpiment (dose effect).

Christophe

[Jordi Fabre]

[Cesar M. Salvan]

"are minerals alive?"

"Crystals grow from nothing, crystals often get sick, sometimes even are attacked by bacteria, and eventually crystals die. The difference is that they usually live much more than a million years."

It is an interesting question, because allow us to introduce some points now under discussion about the Life and approach to one of the frontiers of Science.
From a scientific point of view:

We can not define formally the concept "life", despite the fact that we intuitively recognize the living entities.
But we could identify some exclusive properties of the life:

- Autopoiesis
- Far from equilibrium thermodynamics
- Dynamic kinetic stability
- Self-organization and emergent properties

Minerals growth and evolve, but do not share any of these properties with living beings and, basically, mineral evolution is governed by the laws of equilibrium or near-to-equilibrium thermodynamics.
Growing and evolution and even reproduction are not intrinsic and exclusive characteristics of the life. So, in conclusion, minerals are not alive :))

funny question, anyway :)

[Carles Millan]

What is the definition of life? Two references taken at random:

Wikipedia
"Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased (death), or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life

Dictionary.com
"The condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally."
https://dictionary.reference.com/browse/life
(link normalized by FMF)

So it seems clear that minerals are not a form of life.