We've all seen our fair share of rocks, and most of them aren't that pretty. The ones that are though, can be totally mind-blowing. Ryoji Tanaka, a Japanese photographer and chemist, likes to capture some of the most striking elements, minerals, and compounds in close-up (like the Uranium-containing cuprosklodowskite you see above) and the results are crazy awesome.
Adamantane (by sublimation)
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Bismuth
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Titanium crystals (by electrolysis)
Andersonite
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Plain old gold
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Vanadinite crystals on white barite
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Muonionalusta meteorite
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Karpatite
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Uvarovite
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Bonus Non-mineral: Thenoic acid
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Top Image: Uranium-containing cuprosklodowskite. All photos by Ryoji Tanaka with permission