In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of one or more minerals or mineraloids. For example, the common rock granite is a combination of the quartz, feldspar and biotite minerals. The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock.
Rocks have been used by mankind throughout history. From the Stone Age, rocks have been used for tools. The minerals and metals found in rocks have been essential to human civilization.
Three major groups of rocks are defined: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. The scientific study of rocks is called petrology, which is an essential component of geology.
At a granular level, rocks are composed of grains of minerals, which, in turn, are homogeneous solids formed from a chemical compound that is arranged in an orderly manner. The aggregate minerals forming the rock are held together by chemical bonds. The types and abundance of minerals in a rock are determined by the manner in which the rock was formed. Many rocks contain silica (SiO2); a compound of silicon and oxygen that forms 74.3% of the Earth's crust. This material forms crystals with other compounds in the rock. The proportion of silica in rocks and minerals is a major factor in determining their name and properties.
Stones is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Stones is the debut solo album released by Dan Seals after he parted ways from the duo England Dan & John Ford Coley to pursue a career in country music. It is his only album using the 'England Dan' moniker. "Late at Night", "Stones (Dig a Little Deeper)", and "Love Like the Last Time" were released as singles but did not appear on the Hot Country Songs charts, although "Late at Night" did appear on the US Hot 100 chart, and peaked at #57 on that chart. This album was finally released on CD in 2006 on the Wounded Bird label.
Ice is water frozen into a solid state. Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaque bluish-white color.
In the Solar System, ice is abundant and occurs naturally from as close to the Sun as Mercury to as far as the Oort cloud. Beyond the Solar System, it occurs as interstellar ice. It is abundant on Earth's surface – particularly in the polar regions and above the snow line – and, as a common form of precipitation and deposition, plays a key role in Earth's water cycle and climate. It falls as snowflakes and hail or occurs as frost, icicles or ice spikes.
Ice molecules can exhibit up to sixteen different phases (packing geometries) that depend on temperature and pressure. When water is cooled rapidly (quenching), up to three different types of amorphous ice can form depending on the history of its pressure and temperature. When cooled slowly correlated proton tunneling occurs below 20 K giving rise to macroscopic quantum phenomena. Virtually all the ice on Earth's surface and in its atmosphere is of a hexagonal crystalline structure denoted as ice Ih (spoken as "ice one h") with minute traces of cubic ice denoted as ice Ic. The most common phase transition to ice Ih occurs when liquid water is cooled below 0°C (273.15K, 32°F) at standard atmospheric pressure. It may also be deposited directly by water vapor, as happens in the formation of frost. The transition from ice to water is melting and from ice directly to water vapor is sublimation.
"Water" is the final single from Martika's self-titled debut, Martika. "Water" was never released as a single in the US, but peaked at number 59 on the UK Singles Chart in March 1990, and number 98 on the Australian ARIA singles chart in April 1990. The version released on the single was a remix of the album version, simply titled 7" remix.
Water (H
2O) is the most abundant compound on Earth's surface, covering 70 percent of the planet. In nature, water exists in liquid, solid, and gaseous states. It is in dynamic equilibrium between the liquid and gas states at standard temperature and pressure. At room temperature, it is a tasteless and odorless liquid, nearly colorless with a hint of blue. Many substances dissolve in water and it is commonly referred to as the universal solvent. Because of this, water in nature and in use is rarely pure and some properties may vary from those of the pure substance. However, there are also many compounds that are essentially, if not completely, insoluble in water. Water is the only common substance found naturally in all three common states of matter and it is essential for all life on Earth. Water makes up 55% to 78% of the human body.
Precious: Soundtrack, was released, first as a digital download, prior to the release of the film of the same name on November 3, 2009. Nearly three weeks later, it was released to stores on November 23. The soundtrack consists of various artists (Labelle, Donna Allen, Jean Carn, Sunny Gale, and MFSB); with some artists having recorded songs that were covers and other songs that were recorded specifically for the album. The album received positive praise; mainly the song "I Can See In Color" - which was released as a single - that was recorded and co-written by Blige. The trailer features the song "Destiny" taken from Blige's 2001 album No More Drama. A song titled "My Good Lovin' (Back Like That Remix)", featuring Da Brat and Lil' Mo, was featured in the film but exempted from the soundtrack.
Rolling Stone praised the album, and described the song, "I Can See In Color" as being "...a knockout song...expressing the goal of Precious to see the world in color." Allmusic a majority of the album and its artists. Allmusic described the album as featuring "solid offerings from both contemporary and classic", crediting the contributions from Latifah, Hightower, Jackson and LaBelle, and stated that the album resulted "in a solid and empowering collection that (in the words of [the film's director Lee] Daniels) "resonate not only in Precious' world, but speak to your soul no matter who you are."