science

Hiddenite

Hiddenite is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hiddenite rather than just read about it. In short: Hiddenite is a pale-to-emerald green variety of spodumene that is sometimes used as a gemstone. The first specimens of the hiddenite variety of spodumene were recovered circa 1879 near the settlement of White Plains, west of Stony Point, Alexander County, North Carolina.

Key takeaways

Hiddenite belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hiddenite to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hiddenite from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hiddenite is a pale-to-emerald green variety of spodumene that is sometimes used as a gemstone. The first specimens of the hiddenite variety of spodumene were recovered circa 1879 near the settlement of White Plains, west of Stony Point, Alexander County, North Carolina. According to contemporary accounts, a man named Lackey brought them to the attention of J.A.D. Stephenson, a local merchant who was a collector of minerals. Initially, the yellowish to greenish-yellow hiddenites were thought to be gemmy diopside. Stephenson brought the discovery to the attention of exploration geologist William Earl Hidden, who had been commissioned by Thomas Edison to seek sources of platinum in North Carolina (an effort that was unsuccessful). Hidden sent samples of the odd green material to J. Lawrence Smith, a prominent chemist and mineralogist in Louisville, Kentucky. Smith correctly identified the specimens as being a variety of spodumene and named them "hiddenite" in honor of Hidden. The community in which the gemstones were first found was later renamed "Hiddenite". During the heyday of hiddenite mining in the 1880s and 1890s it was also known as "lithia emerald". Hidden recognized the value of the emeralds and the potential of the new gemmy green spodumene. He acquired a tract of poor quality land, which was either the site of the initial discovery or near to it, for $1500. The Emerald and Hiddenite Mining Company was organized and excavations on the site recovered loose hiddenites and emeralds in the red, gravelly clay. At a depth of about 26 feet they struck bedrock, and soon were recovering hiddenites from solid rock. Oddly, period newspaper accounts and statements by George Frederick Kunz (1892) indicate that mining on the site was never undertaken as a full-time operation, but was only prosecuted a few weeks or months during the summer. Writing in 1892, Kunz described the hiddenite being recovered as "always transparent, ranges from colorless (rare) to a light yellow, into a yellowish green, then into a deep yellow emerald green. Sometimes an entire crystal has a uniform green color, but generally one end is yellow and the other green." Kunz noted that the finest crystal recovered prior to 1892 measured 68 mm tall, and could have cut a gem of 5.5ct estimated weight. The size of most cut gems were small, with a 2ct hiddenite in the Augustus C. Hamlin collection being considered among the finest of the large stones. The coloring agent is chromium. Colors can gradually fade. Hiddenite has a strong vitreous luster and displays strong colors due to pleochroism. In addition to the North Carolina locality, Hiddenite has been found in Brazil, China, and Madagascar. Green spodumene found in Afghanistan and Pakistan has excited modest amounts of controversy in the mineral and gemological communities with debate over whether or not it should be truly considered "hiddenite" as well as claims that the green coloration is induced by irradiation and is fugitive. Deposits occur in granite pegmatite.

References Anonymous (1885): Taylorsville And Aleck, Their Resources and Advantages, Their Enterprise and Progress, The Landmark (newspaper), 8 May 1885 Brush, George B., and Dana, Edward S., (1878) On a new and remarkable mineral locality in Fairfield County, Connecticut American Journal of Science, 3d ser., 16, 33–46 (1878). Brush, George B., and Dana, Edward S., (1880) On the mineral locality at Branchville, Connecticut. Fourth paper. Spodumene and the results of its alteration American Journal of Science, 3d ser., 20, 257–284 (1880). Davidson, S. C. (1927) The Hiddenite Occurrence in North Carolina American Mineralogist Vol. 27, pp 305–307 Egleston, T. (1872) Lectures in Mineralogy Van Nostrand, New York Genth, F. A. (1883) Hiddenite American Journal of Science Vol. 23 series 3, p68 Shainin, Vincent E. (1946) The Branchville, Connecticut, Pegmatite American Mineralogist Volume 31, pages 329–345, 1946 Smith, J. L. (1881) Hiddenite American Journal of Science Vol. 21 ser 3 pp 128–30 (1881)

External links Media related to Hiddenite at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hiddenite

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hiddenite claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hiddenite before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hiddenite ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hiddenite

In research: Hiddenite appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hiddenite in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hiddenite is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Gemstones, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hiddenite outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Hiddenite in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hiddenite means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hiddenite out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hiddenite in simple terms?

Why does Hiddenite matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hiddenite?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hiddenite.