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Foundation 2 of 12
Revelation 21:19
Sapphire
σάπφειροςDichroic: it shows two different colors depending on the direction light travels through it.
Mineralogy
- Greek name
- sappheiros (σάπφειρος)
- Modern identification
- Corundum
- Chemical formula
- Al₂O₃
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Optical class
- Uniaxial (−)
- Birefringence (Δn)
- 0.008–0.009
- Refractive indices
- 1.762–1.770
- Color / appearance
- Blue (and other colors)
Strong pleochroism; dichroic. Corundum crystallises in the trigonal subsystem (space group R̄c).
The light between
Sapphire is anisotropic: enter it with a single ray of light and it leaves as two, split apart by the crystal's inner order. This is birefringence, the same property shared by every one of the twelve foundation stones, and by none of the cubic stones left out of the list.
In the high-priestly breastplate of Exodus 28, this position held Topaz in the Septuagint reckoning.
Hold the light in your hand
The Revelation Stones collection brings each foundation stone into the room with you, and the Light Between research explains what you are looking at.