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Glaucophane

 
Glaucophane

 
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Glaucophane
 
 
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Glaucophane is a mineral
Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid formed through Geology processes that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties....
 belonging to the amphibole
Amphibole

Amphibole defines an important group of generally dark-colored rock-forming Silicate minerals minerals, composed of double chain SiO4 tetrahedron, linked at the vertices and generally containing ions of iron and/or magnesium in their structures....
 group, chemical formula Na
Sodium

Sodium is an element which has the symbol Na , atomic number 11, atomic mass 23 amu , and a common oxidation number +1. Sodium is a soft, silvery white, highly reactive element and is a member of the alkali metals within "group 1" ....
2(Mg
Magnesium

Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, atomic weight 24.3050 and common oxidation number +2.Magnesium, an alkaline earth metal, is the ninth most abundance of the chemical elements in the universe by mass....
,Fe
Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
)3Al2Si
Silicon

Silicon is the most common metalloid. It is a chemical element, which has the symbol Si and atomic number 14. The atomic mass is 28.0855....
8O
Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
22(OH
Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the chemical symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly combustion and explosive Diatomic molecule gas with the molecular formula H2....
)2. It is named from its typical blue color (in Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
, glaucophane means "blue appearing"). Glaucophane crystallizes in the monoclinic system
Monoclinic crystal system

In crystallography, the monoclinic crystal system is one of the 7 lattice point groups. A crystal system is described by three Vector . In the monoclinic system, the crystal is described by vectors of unequal length, as in the orthorhombic system....
.

The blue color is very diagnostic for this species.






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Glaucophane
Glaucophane is a mineral
Mineral

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid formed through Geology processes that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties....
 belonging to the amphibole
Amphibole

Amphibole defines an important group of generally dark-colored rock-forming Silicate minerals minerals, composed of double chain SiO4 tetrahedron, linked at the vertices and generally containing ions of iron and/or magnesium in their structures....
 group, chemical formula Na
Sodium

Sodium is an element which has the symbol Na , atomic number 11, atomic mass 23 amu , and a common oxidation number +1. Sodium is a soft, silvery white, highly reactive element and is a member of the alkali metals within "group 1" ....
2(Mg
Magnesium

Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, atomic weight 24.3050 and common oxidation number +2.Magnesium, an alkaline earth metal, is the ninth most abundance of the chemical elements in the universe by mass....
,Fe
Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
)3Al2Si
Silicon

Silicon is the most common metalloid. It is a chemical element, which has the symbol Si and atomic number 14. The atomic mass is 28.0855....
8O
Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
22(OH
Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the chemical symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly combustion and explosive Diatomic molecule gas with the molecular formula H2....
)2. It is named from its typical blue color (in Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
, glaucophane means "blue appearing"). Glaucophane crystallizes in the monoclinic system
Monoclinic crystal system

In crystallography, the monoclinic crystal system is one of the 7 lattice point groups. A crystal system is described by three Vector . In the monoclinic system, the crystal is described by vectors of unequal length, as in the orthorhombic system....
.

The blue color is very diagnostic for this species. It, along with the closely related mineral riebeckite
Riebeckite

Riebeckite is a sodium-rich member of the amphibole group of minerals, chemical formula sodium25silicon8oxygen222....
 are the only common amphibole minerals that are typically blue. Glaucophane forms a solid solution series with ferroglaucophane; Na2(Fe,Mg)3Al2Si8O22(OH)2. Glaucophane is the magnesium
Magnesium

Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, atomic weight 24.3050 and common oxidation number +2.Magnesium, an alkaline earth metal, is the ninth most abundance of the chemical elements in the universe by mass....
-rich member and ferroglaucophane is the iron
Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
-rich member. Ferroglaucophane is similar to glaucophane but is denser, generally darker in color with a diminished pearly luster
Lustre (mineralogy)

Lustre is a description of the way light interacts with the surface of a crystal, rock , or mineral. For example, a diamond is said to have an adamantine lustre and pyrite is said to have a metallic lustre....
. Glaucophane's hardness is 5 - 6, and its specific gravity
Specific gravity

Specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the density of a given solid or liquid substance to the density of water at a specific temperature and pressure, typically at 4?C and , making it a dimensionless quantity ....
 is approximately 3 - 3.2.

Glaucophane forms in metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock

Metamorphic rock is the result of the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form"....
s that are either particularly rich in sodium
Sodium

Sodium is an element which has the symbol Na , atomic number 11, atomic mass 23 amu , and a common oxidation number +1. Sodium is a soft, silvery white, highly reactive element and is a member of the alkali metals within "group 1" ....
 or that have experienced low temperature-high pressure metamorphism
Metamorphism

Metamorphism is the solid-state Crystallization of pre-existing Rock due to changes in physical and chemical conditions, primarily heat, pressure, and the introduction of chemically active fluids....
 such as would occur along a subduction
Subduction

In geology, subduction is the process that takes place at convergent boundary by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate, sinking into the Earth's mantle, as the plates converge....
 zone. This material has undergone intense pressure and moderate heat as it was subducted downward toward the mantle
Mantle (geology)

The mantle is a part of an astronomical object. The interior of the Earth, similar to the other terrestrial planets, is chemically divided into layers....
. It is glaucophane's color that gives the blueschist
Blueschist

Blueschist is a Rock that forms by the metamorphism of basalt and rocks with similar composition at high pressures and low temperatures, approximately corresponding to a depth of 15 to 30 kilometers and 200 to ~500 degrees Celsius....
 facies its name. Glaucophane is also found in eclogite
Eclogite

Eclogite is a coarse-grained mafic metamorphic rock. Eclogite is of special interest for at least two reasons. First, it forms at pressures greater than those typical of the Crust of the Earth....
s that have undergone retrograde metamorphism.

There is also a rare amphibole called holmquistite
Holmquistite

Holmquistite is a lithium magnesium aluminium Silicate minerals#Inosilicates mineral with chemical formula: Li23Al2Si8O222....
, chemical formula Li2Mg3Al2Si8O22(OH)2, which occurs only in lithium-rich continental rocks. For many years, holmquistite was mistaken for glaucophane, as the two look identical in thin section.

See also

  • List of Minerals
    List of minerals

    This is a List of minerals for which there are Wikipedia articles. Mineral variety names and mineraloids are to be listed after the valid minerals for each letter....