Amethyst of synthetic quartz is used. Treated amethyst is produced by gamma ray, X-ray or electron beam irradiation of clear quartz (rock crystal) which has been first doped with ferric impurities. On exposure to heat, the irradiation effects can be partially cancelled and amethyst generally becomes yellow or even green, and much of the citrine, cairngorm, or yellow quartz of jewelry is said to be merely "burnt amethyst". The Greek word "amethystos" may be translated as "not drunken", from Greek "a-", "not" + "methustos", "intoxicated". Amethyst was considered to be a strong antidote against drunkenness, which is why wine goblets were
Amethyst Incident if she came under fire from the shore batteries at Woosung. To achieve this she had moved up the Yangtze during the night, at action stations. Fortunately for the British, "Amethyst" was not spotted by the shore batteries and the two ships then proceeded down river until at 0715 they stood down from action stations and after clearing the river mouth arrived at the Saddle Islands at 1200 hrs to anchor and transfer much needed oil and stores. After a short stay at anchor, "Concord" lent "Amethyst" sailors to fill gaps in her ship's company and the two ships set