You can use apps like "Rock Identifier: Stone ID" to quickly determine the value of rocks. These apps have a database for you to reference different types of rocks for identification. The valuation ...

It’ll be a snap to identify gemstones once Robert Downs finishes his library of spectral fingerprints for all the Earth’s minerals. Downs is almost halfway there. So far, the associate professor of ...

More than 4,000 naturally occurring minerals—inorganic solids that have a characteristic chemical composition and specific crystal structure—have been found on Earth. They are formed of simple ...

Researchers are developing a handheld instrument, much like a tricorder from the "Star Trek" television show, that will allow almost instant identification of minerals. The pocket-sized instrument ...

It'll be a snap to identify gemstones once Robert Downs finishes his library of spectral fingerprints for all the Earth's minerals. Downs is almost halfway there. So far, the associate professor of ...