Sand grains magnified 110-250 times reveal each grain is unique.
The tip of a spiral shell has broken off and become a grain of sand. After being repeatedly tumbled by action of the surf this spiral sand grain has become opalescent in character. It is surrounded by bits of coral, a pink shell fragment, a foram (a type of protozoa) and volcanic material. Photo copyright Dr. Gary Greenberg.
A handful of sand grains selected from a beach in Maui and arranged on a black background. Photo copyright Dr. Gary Greenberg.
Every grain of sand in the world is unique when viewed through a microscope.
Sand magnified 250 times. Photo copyright Dr. Gary Greenberg.
Sand Magnified. Photo by Yanping Wang.
Sand magnified 250 times. Photo via Tumblr.
Sand Magnified Around The World
The glacially deposited sands around Lake Winnibigoshish, Minnesota, contain abundant sediments from the igneous and metamorphic minerals of the Lake Superior basin. A sample includes pink garnets, green epidote, iron-rich red agates, black magnetite, and hematite. Photo copyright Dr. Gary Greenberg.
Magnified grains of star sand from Southern Japan, made up of the calcified shells of tiny organisms. Photo by Richard Mouser Williams.
Beautiful Framed Seashell
Neat idea for decorating a beach house, or any space you want a splash of the sea. The frame is 14″x17″, and yes, it’s a real seashell. Sold by Art.com for $119.99.
Magnified grains of Star Sand. Photo by Richard Mouser Williams.
Puffy Stars: Star-Shaped Sand Grains from Okinawa. These tiny foram, a type of protozoa, secrete beautiful star-shaped, calcium carbonate shells, or tests. Photo via sandgrains.com.
Coral sand magnified one-hundred times using transmission electron microscopy, brightfield mode. By Dr. David Maitland, Feltwell, UK, microscopyu.com
Many grains of sand are tiny crystals (shiny, flat-sided solids). Sand from Zushi Beach, Japan, contains what looks like a sapphire crystal. The crystal is larger than the surrounding grains and has survived eroding because of its hardness and quality. Photo copyright Dr. Gary Greenberg.
Fragments of baby sea urchin shells, magnified one-hundred times. Biogenic sand, formed from the remains of marine life, is the major ingredient of many tropical beaches. Via popgive.com. Originally found at “popgive.com/2009/01/tiny-work-of-art-in-each-grain-of-sand.html”
A magnified view of the tropical beach sand from the Caribbean island of St. John (U.S. Virgin Islands). The grains include porous fragments of brightly-colored corals, minute foraminiferan shells, fragments of sea shells and shiny, star-shaped sponge spicules. Originally found at “waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0704b.htm”
Sand Photographer Dr. Gary Greenberg
Every grain of sand is a jewel waiting to be discovered. That’s what Dr. Gary Greenberg found when he first turned his microscope on beach sand. Gemlike minerals, colorful coral fragments, and delicate microscopic shells reveal that sand comprises much more than tiny beige rocks.
Author and photographer Dr. Gary Greenberg is a visual artist who creatively combines art with science. He has a Ph.D. in biomedical research from University College London and holds 17 patents for high-definition 3-D light microscopes. Dr. Greenberg lives in Haiku, Hawaii.
Dr. Greenberg has published two books:
- A Grain of Sand: Nature’s Secret Wonder
- The Secrets of Sand: A Journey into the Amazing Microscopic World of Sand
The Universe Of Sand
Carl Sagan famously remarked “the total number of stars in the universe is greater than all the grains of sand on all the beaches on the planet Earth.” University of Hawai’i researches estimate that the total number of ‘all’ grains of sand on the whole planet could be approximately 75 billion billion. Scientists still believe there are more stars in the Universe.
Speaking of planets: If a grain of sand represented an entire galaxy; so each grain of sand, or galaxy, contains 100’s of billions of stars, you would need to fill six rooms full of sand to contain all the galaxies in the known universe. If you drilled a tiny hole in one of the grains of sand, ‘our Milky Way universe,’ that would be the area that we have been capable of seaching for planets so far. About 2000 planets have been discovered so far.
Who hath measured the waters in hollow of His hand…And comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales… Isiah 40:12
Thank You Gary Greenberg and to all who put these pictures up for all of us to see. They are truly wondrous and incredibly beautiful. Outstanding Photography!!
this was the most amazing display ever. Thanks
What else can I say? Thanks Apryl for sharing this post…to Dr. Greenberg, it truly amazing! Absolutely beautiful!
Thank you for sharing the marvel of sand!
The more closely we look at the everyday things around us, the more awe inspiring they become. One might expect they would be a humbling influence on humans to some degree. Many times it is, but reading the thoughts of others I get the feeling not often enough perhaps. If we can’t share the special beauty of sand without being unkind, how can we expect to get along on a global scale, solve the really important problems on this tiny insignificant grain of sand we call home?! Therefore many do put their hope in a God, even if that god is science. But every holy book (I think) promotes peace, love, kindness & etc. So let us leave each person we contact with a beauty like we enjoy viewing the wonderous things around us. If inanimate objects can, intelligent humans should…if we try. One thing we all seem to agree on is if we look close enough at mere sand, what beauty we see! If we look as closely at each other, maybe we can see the beauty in each of us? OK, it may be true, at some of us you may have to look really hard, but still I pray we try. In the mean time what other wonders might we find? Surely some body had to design this stuff, someone a lot smarter than any human I have heard of. And chance so far means chaos.
Thank you again for sharing the marvel of sand.
one of the most awesome things i’ve ever seen. Only from Jehovah!!
Thank you so much for sharing this wonder.
I have looked at many grains of sand and of course unless it is a rocky beach or pebbly they all seem the same. I loved seeing these beautiful pictures. The internet has made it
possible to see all the beautiful secrets of the globe brought by brilliant photographers and scientists. Thanks again
What an awesome God we have.
beautiful, wish I could see with my naked eye
It’s so magnificent–beyond words and can only testify to the Creator’s magnificent handiwork.
I lived in Okinawa from 1978-1981, and spent many days shelling and exploring the wonders of the ocean and beaches there. I visited one of the small surrounding islands and admired the ‘stars’ in the sand. I could see the star shapes with the naked eye. What an experience. Thanks for sharing your wonderful photographs!
There is beuty in all creations.
Oh. . .so BEAUTIFUL ! I’ll NEVER look at ‘sand’ the same way again!
Incredible !
Beautiful.
Fascinating.
Like snowflakes – each one unique.
Thank you.
GOD is good!!
Amazing!
Ready? Get this if you can- There are about 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (2000 billion billion) grains of sand on Earth; EACH ONE IS UNIQUE! There are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on Earth; EACH ONE HAS A NAME FROM JEHOVAH GOD! There are more connections in your Brain than there are grains of sand or even more than stars in the known universe! Try repeating that to 3 people. Check out this amazing web site. What are your comments? I need some Tylenol.
This is truly a work of art. God in His infinite wisdom, has made each grain as individual as He made each person. Even though we share the same components,(DNA,Ectoplasm) etc. we are all as different as the grains of sand on the beach.
What an amazing world Dr. Greenberg has opened up …
This excerpt from William Blake’s poem (He lived from 1757-1827) shows that he was ahead of his time … or at least had an amazing vision, both physical and philosophical.
‘To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.’
Save the planet!
A wonderful site – thank you!
Extraordinary! Other than walking barefoot on the beach I had not given sand much thought. I’ll never look at it as ordinary again. God is so good.
fantastic discovering truly mind-boggling
fantastic discovery, truly mind-boggling! how precious our God given natural resources are, even a grain of sand.
Thank you Jehovah and thank you Dr.Gary for revealing this matter to us.
If you would like to see one of the very best dune sand collections in the world today, stop by Sand Master Park in Florence, Oregon USA and see our amazing display of SAND!
Love this video and will now buy the book. Amazing!
Wow, I never would have thought that a grain of sand would be so magnificent! I’ve always thought that they were rounded off pebbles! That really made me think!
What is so amazing, is that God thought all of this through and made all of it! I mean, it just blows my mind to think of how he made all of us and all of our surroundings! Praise God! 🙂
Thank you for showing us another one of God’s wonderful creations. What an amazing God, taking the time to make even the smallest of his creations beautiful, unique and awe inspiring. I marvel at it.
Just amazing.
God created all of this for us to enjoy. Have a Blessed Day!
God God God…..blah blah blah….. our universe and everything in it is so vast and powerful, yet the human mind keeps returning to elementary beliefs…
Unreal so beautiful.shame can’t be seen by human eye alone without being magnified …this gets around to all those greedy guys ,,there won’t be any sand left on any beach………
how can you not believe in God and look at this world with open eye’s?Its just amazing how people do that.
Thank you for these magnificent pictures. They truly is awesome and I’m grateful for the experience!
Thank you!
I agree this is the most beautiful panet in the universe, just made for humans, by Jehovah God. What a wonderful place it will be to live without Satan’s system. How marvelous when every thing will be returned to the paradise Jehovah purposed. Maybe we will be able to see the beauty that is not apparent to us now. Yet there are so many beautiful things to enjoy now. Think what the new system will be like. Thank you for sharing this beauty of sand.
Sorry,,,beautiful PLANET
What a wonderful example again of the wonder of that man upstairs, hwo gives us all these things to use and learn of. Thanks be to God.
Sand : I love photography – not very good at it myself. This is so cool ! I had no idea our beaches were made up of these beautiful pieces of art work !
Thans so much for showing us
Beautiful!,
amazing how something can appear so plain and simple to the naked eye…when in truth each grain is a work of art, beyond imagination.
Makes one ponder how much magic and beauty that surrounds us all daily goes by unnoticed.
A true eye opener.
Mind-boggling and awesome.
It’s like looking into the depths of the universe.
Blessings!
I thoroughly enjoyed this website sent to me by a dear friend. Since I have a science degree I’ve seen al lot of this before but a refresher warms my heart.
Impressive – but it might be easier to drill a tiny hole than to drill a tiny ‘whole’.
Thanks for sending. These are awsome pictures. Never imagined that much under my feet at the beach. The earth is an amazing place.
Thanks to Astrid for passing this on.
The world is full of Magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.
–W.B. Yeats
Hard to put into words. Thanks ever so much for sharing. I find that if I look close enough,
everything is beautiful.
The Lake in Minnesota that you refer to is mispelled. Enjoyed the piece very much.