Walking on Treasures
While the snow is blowing around outside, I find myself day dreaming about the sunny beach. I was clicking through my Facebook page and someone pointed out a study done on sand. With my interest peaked I discovered an article with some stunning close up images of sand grains. Even as a child I always loved to collect sea shells on our rare trips to the beach. Little did I know I was already walking on some little wonders.
The following images are from a study that was conducted by Professor Greenberg at the University College of London. He took sand and placed it under a 250X microscope and discovered the intricate details of sand grains. You can see the fragments of crystal, remnants of shells, and even some volcanic rock. It is hard to imagine that we walk on beaches without even thinking about what we are stepping on. I think these little treasures are breathtaking and fascinating. It is amazing how nature creates sand by the repetitious pounding of the surf on land.
Above you can clearly see what I believe is the remainders of a star fish, shells, crystals, and rock. The details in these images are what strike me the most. Seeing 250 times what the human eye can see really brings out everything that we miss. Sand is made up of so many different things.
The image above is my favorite. I love all the different colors and textures the sand grains have. The purple ones are stunning and I can even tell what some of the sand once was. It is hard to imagine that something this tiny is so beautiful. Below is the last image and then I linked a YouTube video that goes into more detail on the study.