what is pure essays

what is pure essays What are pure, rare, external, and a versatile metal? Its called platinum. Platinum is not only used for fashion or style but also used in chemical, auto catalyst, dental, electronics, jewelry, medical and petroleum. Platinums history consist of it being an ancient lost treasure. The Ancient Egyptians, pre-Incan civilizations and the Spanish conquistadors all encountered platinum. It then reemerged in the 1700s to fascinate kings and alchemists. Platinum grew in popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries and today is the precious metal of choice of rappers, movie stars and the glitterati (www.preciousplatimum.com/output/page 49/asp). In 1924 German geologist Hans Merensky discovers the worlds largest platinum deposit near Johannesburg, South Africa. During WWII it was declared as a strategic metal, and the use for jewelry making was forbidden. In the post war era however, platinums popularity is once again reborn as the passion for jewelry is rekindled. At the White Heat exhibition in New York in 1947 a number of precious platinum and diamond pieces were displayed, proving that platinum is back in vogue. Today platinum has become the precious metal of choice of the worlds glitterati, loved by stars such as Ronald Baby Williams. Platinum is paraded down the red carpet at award ceremonies. Artists such as Grammy award winner Outkast and many other rich and famous people wear it. Platinum qualities consist of it being pure. It is pure, and endows a brilliant white luster, this helps reflect the true radiance of diamonds. This is because it is generally 95 percent pure platinum. Platinum jewelry does not tarnish and it keeps its looks for a lifetime (www.preciousplatinum.com/output). Charles Lattimore from Friedmans Jewelry store at Northwoods Mall states that platinum is the least sold item at the store ...

Megalania - Facts and Figures

Megalania - Facts and Figures Name: Megalania (Greek for giant roamer); pronounced MEG-ah-LANE-ee-ah Habitat: Plains of Australia Historical Epoch: Pleistocene-Modern (2 million-40,000 years ago) Size and Weight: Up to 25 feet long and 2 tons Diet: Meat Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; powerful jaws; splayed legs About Megalania Aside from crocodiles, very few prehistoric reptiles after the age of dinosaurs achieved enormous sizesone notable exception being Megalania, also known as the Giant Monitor Lizard. Depending on whose reconstruction you believe, Megalania measured anywhere from 12 to 25 feet from head to tail and weighed in the neighborhood of 500 to 4,000 poundsa wide discrepancy, to be sure, but one that would still put it in a heftier weight class than the largest lizard alive today, the Komodo Dragon (a relative lightweight at only 150 pounds). Even though it was discovered in southern Australia, Megalania was described by the famous English naturalist Richard Owen, who in 1859 also created its genus and species name (Megalania prisca, Greek for great ancient roamer). However, modern paleontologists believe that the Giant Monitor Lizard should properly be classified under the same genus umbrella as modern monitor lizards, Varanus. The result is that professionals refer to this giant lizard as Varanus priscus, leaving it to the public to wield the nickname Megalania. Paleontologists speculate that Megalania was the apex predator of Pleistocene Australia, feasting at leisure on mammalian megafauna like Diprotodon (better known as the Giant Wombat) and Procoptodon (the Giant Short-Faced Kangaroo). The Giant Monitor Lizard would have been relatively immune from predation itself unless it happened to spar with two other predators that shared its late Pleistocene territory: Thylacoleo, the Marsupial Lion, or the Quinkana, a 10-foot-long, 500-pound crocodile. (Given its splay-legged posture, it seems unlikely that Megalania could have outrun more fleet-footed mammalian predators, especially if these furry assassins decided to gang up for the hunt.) One interesting fact about Megalania is that its the largest identified lizard ever to have lived on our planet. If that makes you do a double-take, remember that Megalania technically belongs to the order Squamata, placing it on an entirely different branch of evolution than plus-sized prehistoric reptiles like dinosaurs, archosaurs, and therapsids. Today, Squamata is represented by close to 10,000 species of lizards and snakes, including Megalanias modern descendants, the monitor lizards. Megalania is one of the few giant Pleistocene animals the demise of which cant be traced directly to early humans; the Giant Monitor Lizard was probably doomed to extinction by the disappearance of the gentle, herbivorous, oversized mammals that early Australians preferred to hunt instead. (The first human settlers arrived on Australia about 50,000 years ago.) Since Australia is such a huge and uncharted landmass, there are some people who believe that Megalania still lurks in the interior of the continent, but there isnt a shred of evidence to support this view!