Nugget is a word associated with purity and naturalness. What does it mean? What nuggets exist?
Nugget is…?
There are two meanings for this term. The first meaning is literal. It refers to minerals. So, a nugget means a whole piece, grain, substances formed in nature in its pure form. It contains no impurities of other elements.
The term is associated with naturalness, natural forms and purity. Its meaning has been transformed over time, and can now be used in a figurative sense in characterizing a person. In this case, a nugget is a person who has a natural gift, talent or skill, without having the appropriate education.
It is often associated with genius, although the word nugget is used in a broader sense. It refers to a person who is able to perform a certain activity well, without special training. That is, it denotes talent, not its superlatives.
Minerals
In the Middle Ages, any metals and gem stones that stood out among grains of sand or ore were called nuggets. At present, a nugget is most often a metal, less often a stone orother items.
They are distinguished by integrity, unique, inimitable form. In chemistry, nuggets are combined into one crystal-chemical classification. They form under certain natural conditions. They are mostly found in sedimentary rocks.
Most elements in nature are in the form of compounds or ores. Only about 45 are found in the native state, most of them are rare. Mercury, zinc, chromium, cadmium, tin, indium are difficult to find in their pure form, as a rule, they are formed as part of ores. Iron in its pure form is extremely rare, usually its nuggets are present in meteorites. Among non-metals in the native state, sulfur and carbon can occur.
In nature, pure carbon is diamond and graphite. Semimetals include arsenic, tellurium, and antimony. Elements that usually exist without impurities are called noble or inert. These include noble gases, gold, platinum, ruthenium, osmium, palladium, silver.
Large nuggets
At all times, those who wanted to get rich hunted for nuggets. Who wouldn't want to find a large diamond or piece of gold that would immediately solve a lot of financial problems? More than a dozen truly large nuggets are known in history. The finds were usually assigned mysterious or exotic names, such as "Desired", "Cullinan", etc.
The largest silver nugget was discovered in 1447 in Schneeberg. Its weight was twenty tons. The owner of the find, the Duke of Saxony Albrecht, ordered to maketable. The huge weight prevented transportation, so it was left in the mine, at the place of discovery.
The largest gold nugget is the Holterman Plate. It was discovered in Australia in 1872. Pure gold was as if soldered into a quartz slab. Its weight was about 100 kilograms, and the length reached 140 centimeters.
