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Thursday, July 2, 2009

Sodalite Na4A13(SiO4)3CI) Silicates/ Tectosilicates Group

Physical Features
1. Color- Gray, white, blue, green, yellow violet.
2. Streak- Colorless, white, light blue.
3. Luster- Vitreous to greasdy.
4. Cleavage- Poor to distinct.
5. Transparency- Transparent to translucent.
6. Fracture-Uneven to conchoidal.
7. Hardness- 5.5-6.
8. Forms- Granular to Massive.
9. Crystal feature- Cubic.
Sodalite is a rich blue mineral named for it's high sodium aluminum silicate chloride. In mineralogy it maybe classed as a feldspathoid. Sodalite typically occures in massive granular forms, which crystals are relatively rare and are dodecahedral or octahedral. Much of Sodalite is found in veins of dry silica-poor plutonic igneous rocks such as nepheline syenites, pegmatites and phonolites. On the rare occassion may be found in volcanic ejecta and metamorphosed limestones and dolomite. Hackmanite is a rare but highly important variety of Sodalite which has been said to exhibit the ability to change color when exposed to sunlight. These occurrences happen through out the world.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Rock Crystals Si02 Silicates/Tectosilicates Group

Physican Features
1. Color- Colorless.
2. Streak- White.
3. Luster-Vitreous.
4. Cleavage-None.
5. Transparency- Transparent.
6. Fracture- Conchoidal.
7. Hardness- 7.
8. Forms- Prismatic.
9. Crystal system- Trigonal/Hexagonal.
Rock crystal is the colorless variety of quartz. Rock crystals crystalize directly from magma (lava), in pegmatites, and in low temperatures. This is the purest variety of quartz. The crystals can grow to enormous sizes in pegmatites. They also form inside geodes, as crystalline, and microcrystalline quartz. Quartz is a silicon dioxide and is the third most common mineral in the earths crust. This makes quartz an important and essential component of acidic igneous rock's and can be found just about anywhere.