NASA Ames is named in honor of Joseph Sweetman Ames, a physicist and one of the founding members of NACA. At last estimate NASA Ames has over US$3.0 billion in capital equipment, 2,300 research personnel and a US$860 million annual budget.
Beryl, the mineral of which emerald is a variety, has a chemical composition of Be 3 Al 2 (SiO 3) 6. When pure, beryl is colorless and known as goshenite.. Trace amounts of chromium or vanadium in the mineral cause it to develop a green color.
Emeralds are green for the same reason as rubies are red. The ruby is a regular crystal of corundum containing chromium as an impurity. The emerald is a regular crystal of beryl that also contains chromium as an impurity. Beryl is the term given to beryllium aluminum silicate (Be2Al2Si6Ol8). In rubies an aluminum atom in the beryl lattice is replaced by a chromium atom.