Importance of Minerals
Miscellanea / / August 08, 2023
understood as one of the natural resources most significant for the life of the human being, the minerals and with them the metals have served throughout history to bring innumerable benefits to the life of the human being, the only living being that has managed to master them and know them thoroughly for use staff.
The value of minerals for human beings goes back to ancient times, since the first tools of humanity were made with these materials. With the course of events, the use of minerals even came to give names to the stages of human history: thus, experts have called Stone age, Copper Age and iron age to various phases of civilization.
Likewise, minerals have given human beings the necessary materials for the construction of houses, fortresses, walls, castles, temples and other constructions that have lasted for millennia. On the other hand, the importance of these products is also reflected in the generation of energy, since the so-called Fossil fuels (coal and mainly oil) are nothing more than the mineral transformation of ancient remains biological. Currently, certain minerals provide energy from other causes, such as radiation.
Minerals and their relationship with nature: elements that are part of a whole
It is not possible to forget that, on the other hand, these substances form an integral part of biological systems. For example, sodium is a relevant constituent of all living organisms, since cardiac conduction and nerve impulses would not be possible in the absence of this mineral. A consideration Similar corresponds to potassium, a mineral that integrates the activity of the muscles and the optimal functionality of the heart. The importance of iron is also evident in avoiding anemia and other similar ailments.
We can group or differentiate minerals according to their color, one of the central elements in determining their characteristics. Thus we have the idiochromatics, which are those that always maintain the same color, such as gold or silver. We also have pseudochromatic minerals that obtain their color from characteristics physical and that is understood as false because it is not proper but can vary depending on the circumstance. Among them we find the opal, for example. In third place we have allochromatic minerals, those that can take on the color of other elements and that can easily vary throughout their existence, such as beryl. We must say, however, that this is only one of the possible ways to differentiate between minerals and metals.
The relationship of minerals with the economy: could we live without them?
When we talk about minerals in relation to the human being, we find that the links are much deeper than they really appear to the naked eye. This is so because as the life of the human being became more complex, it was incorporating more and more minerals and their use also became more and more efficient, more complex, more durable. Nowadays there is no possibility for the human being to live without these elements since a large part of our daily life depends on it: the way in which we obtain food, the tools we use at all times, technology, the construction of buildings and houses, monetary values, etc
In commercial areas, minerals acquire a fundamental relevance, especially in the financial approach. Gold is considered a store of value in many nations, while silver is an element of minor value but of no less foundation for economic systems. In a parallel activity, such as jewelry, precious stones are part of the preference heritage of the most of the experts and are currently the generators of extensive and extremely harsh illegal markets and traffics.
Minerals complete their presence in modern technology, with silicon integrated into computers, as well as zinc and nickel parts that are part of engineering resources. Therefore, the importance of these products is evident in the various aspects of daily life.
Photos: iStock, Achim Prill/markrhiggins
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