Natron was mined as a powdery solid from dry lakebeds near the Nile and had many practical applications in Ancient Egypt. Mummification is based on natron's ability to absorb water and thus dry out a body.

Talc in powdered form is used as baby powder. It is also used as a thickening agent, a lubricant, and is a main ingredient in many cosmetics.

A mineral is a solid formation that occurs naturally in the earth, while a rock is a solid combination of more than one mineral formations which is also occurring naturally.

Also known as saltpeter, niter is the natural mineral for potassium nitrate. The explosive power of fireworks comes in large part from this oxidizer. Mixing potassium nitrate with sulfur and carbon creates the highly ignitable substance called black powder, which propels the firework into the sky.

The graphite-diamond transformation can be achieved directly by subjecting graphite to ultra high pressures (> 100 kbar) and temperatures (> 2000°C).

The vast majority of the minerals that make up the rocks of Earth's crust are silicate minerals. These include minerals such as quartz, feldspar, mica, amphibole, pyroxene, olivine, and a great variety of clay minerals. The building block of all of these minerals is the silica tetrahedron, a combination of four oxygen atoms and one silicon atom.

The ability to leave marks on paper and other objects earned graphite its name, given in 1789 by German mineralogist Abraham Gottlob Werner. It stems from a word meaning "to write" or "to draw" in Ancient Greek.