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Opal vs Jasper - What's the difference?

opal | jasper |

In mineralogy terms the difference between opal and jasper

is that opal is a mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula SiO2·nH2O while jasper is an opaque, impure variety of quartz, of red, yellow, and other dull colors, breaking conchoidally with a smooth surface.

opal

English

(wikipedia opal)

Noun

(en noun)
  • (mineralogy) A mineral consisting, like quartz, of silica, but inferior to quartz in hardness and specific gravity, of the chemical formula Si]]O2· n[[water, H2O.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2012-03
    • , author=Lee A. Groat , title=Gemstones , volume=100, issue=2, page=128 , magazine=(American Scientist) citation , passage=Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals , peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)}}
  • (biology, genetics, biochemistry) A colloquial name used in molecular biology referring to a particular stop codon sequence, "UGA."

    • Derived terms

    * fire opal * wood opal * opaline * opalesce

    References

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    jasper

    English

    (wikipedia jasper)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) jaspre, a variant of jaspe (modern French jaspe), from (etyl) iaspis, from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (-)
  • (obsolete) Any bright-coloured kind of chalcedony apart from cornelian.
  • (mineralogy) An opaque, impure variety of quartz, of red, yellow, and other dull colors, breaking conchoidally with a smooth surface.
  • Jasperware pottery.
    • Derived terms
    * Jasper National Park * jasper opal * jasperated * jasperite * jasperize * jasperoid * jasperous * jasperware * jaspery * jaspidean * lavender jasper * xyloid jasper
    See also
    * jasperware

    Etymology 2

    From the male personal name Jasper .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (UK, West Country, Somerset, colloquial) A wasp.
  • (US, slang) A person, a guy, especially seen as naïve or simple.
  • * 1975 , Tom Waits, ‘Nighthawk Postcards (From Easy Street)’:
    • Standing on the corner like a just-got-in-town jasper .
  • * 2006 , Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day , Vintage 2007, p. 122:
    • “That jasper ,” sniggered Darby, “never pulled out his ‘dummy’ for nothing but pissing, I bet you!”
  • * 1968 , Charles Portis, True Grit , The Saturday Evening Post
    • "I stood there through almost an hour of it before they called Rooster Cogburn to the stand. I had guessed wrong as to which one he was, picking out a younger and slighter man with a badge on his shirt. And I was surprised when an old one-eyed jasper that was built along the lines of Grover Cleveland went up and was sworn."

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