Boji stone

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Boji stones, also known as "Kansas pop rocks", are ordinary concretions composed of either iron sulfide, i.e pyrite and marcasite, or in some cases jarosite, which are found in outcrops of the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation within Grove County, Kansas. They are typically associated with thin layers of altered volcanic ash, called bentonite, which occur within the chalk comprising the Smoky Hill Chalk Member. A few of these concretions enclose, at least in part, large flattened valves of inoceramid bivalves. The "female" Boji stones are smooth concretions, which range in size from a few millimeters to as much as 0.7 m (2.3 ft) in length and 12 cm (0.4 ft) in thickness. Most of these concretions are oblate spheroids in shape. The "male" Boji stones are small polycuboidal pyrite concretions, which are as much as 7 cm (0.23 foot ) in diameter (Hattin 1982). These concretions will explode if thrown in a fire. Also, when they are either cut or hammered, they produce sparks and a burning sulfur smell. Iron sulfide concretions, virtually identical to Boji stones in composition, size, and shape, can be found in outcrops of sedimentary rocks all over the world. For example, pyrtite and marcasite concretions can be found in the Mooreville Chalk Formation of Alabama and the Cretaceous chalks of Sussex and Kent, England.

The pyrite or marcasite, which typically comprise Boji stones, with time can decompose, sometimes quite quickly, into a white, powdery pile of secondary sulphate minerals. This process is commonly called "pyrite decay". Coarse grained aggregates of pyrite crystals, "male" Boji stones, are the most stable form of iron sulfide, while the fine-grained aggregates of marcasite, which comprise the typical "female" Boji stones, are most prone to decomposition. However, additional factors, including humidity; the presence or absence of microorganisms, i.e. the bacteria Thiobacillus ferrooxidans; and other factors will determine whether and how fast specific individual stones disintegrate. The sulphuric acid liberated by the decomposition of iron sulfide composing them often destroys both the labels and boxes in which such boji stones might be kept ^[1].

1 Boji Stones According to Practioners of Alternative Medicine
2 References Cited
3 Notes
4 External links

[edit] Boji Stones According to Practioners of Alternative Medicine

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These stones have been termed "living stones" due to their own energy field and ability to "die." In a solid form, these stones have a hardness of 7.0. Boji stones come in two types, male and female. The male stones are more textured and have large crystalline formations protruding from them, whereas the females are more smooth and rounded. There are more females than males.

The energy of the Boji Stones is electromagnetic, and when a pair are held near each other, a slight pushing and pulling is experienced. The charge of a boji can be read with a standard multimeter set to read millivolts.

Known to alternative healing practices to be a beneficial stone for treating arthritis and other disorders, these stones react to bioelectrical fields as well. The human body naturally produces a voltage that can be read by a multimeter. It is natural to have a charge between 5 and 30 millivolts (a pacemaker regulates the human heart with a 1 millivolt charge). If the reading is done from the palms of the hands without the stones, the body's natural charge is displayed fairly accurately. However, if a stone is placed in each hand and the reading is taken again through the stones, the reading will usually rise to above 100 millivolts and a polarity shift will be noted.

[edit] References Cited

Hattin, D.E., 1982, Stratigraphy and depositional environment of the Smoky Hill Chalk Member, Niobrara Chalk (Upper Cretaceous) of the type area, western Kansas Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin 225:1-108.