How to Make a Seashell - Just Add Water!
Thank you to James Cook University - http://www.jcu.edu.au/ And to the following Subbable supporters, who also help make MinuteEarth possible: @Najamuddin - www.facebook.com/najamuddin @chidalgo...
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Living creatures are amazing at building their homes from just about anything. But sea-dwellingcreatures are particular wizards: microscopic coccolithophores, coral-building algae, andgiant snails engineer their own building material, like magic, by pulling two dissolved chemicals-- calcium and carbonate -- out of the water to form solid shells of, surprise, calciumcarbonate.The reason those shells don't dissolve back into calcium and carbonate as soon as they'rebuilt is that ocean water is already holding as much calcium and carbonate as it can, sothe mineral forms much more easily than it dissolves.At least, that's the way it works near the surface, where the shell-builders live. Butat greater depths, water isn't quite as saturated...
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Living creatures are amazing at building their homes from just about anything. But sea-dwellingcreatures are particular wizards: microscopic coccolithophores, coral-building algae, andgiant snails engineer their own building material, like magic, by pulling two dissolved chemicals-- calcium and carbonate -- out of the water to form solid shells of, surprise, calciumcarbonate.The reason those shells don't dissolve back into calcium and carbonate as soon as they'rebuilt is that ocean water is already holding as much calcium and carbonate as it can, sothe mineral forms much more easily than it dissolves.At least, that's the way it works near the surface, where the shell-builders live. Butat greater depths, water isn't quite as saturated...
