Stalassein is about the formation of stalagmites and stalactites in a cave. The word stalassein means to drip

in Greek, which quite literally depicts the process of forming calcites. In a limestone cave, rainwater falls

over a cave and trickles through the rocks which picks up carbon dioxide and minerals as it runs. This

equation is a result:

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H20 + CO2 + CaCO3 = Ca (HCO3)2

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Ca (HCO3)2 is calcium bicarbonate, and as the water comes into contact with the air in the cave some if it

transforms back to calcium carbonate and that is how a calcite is created. As water drips, the calcite grows

and a stalactite is formed. Some water drips off down the stalactite onto the cave floor, which is how a

stalagmite forms.

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Together, over hundreds and thousands of years these two may eventually form one big column.