Periclase
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| Periclase | |
|---|---|
| Category | Oxide mineral |
| Chemical formula | MgO |
| Identification | |
| Color | Colorless, grayish white, yellow, brownish yellow, green, black |
| Crystal habit | Granular, generally occurs as anhedral to subhedral crystals in matrix |
| Crystal system | Isometric - Hexoctahedral |
| Cleavage | {001} perfect; {111} imperfect, may exhibit parting on {011} |
| Fracture | Brittle to conchoidal |
| Mohs Scale hardness | 6 |
| Luster | Vitreous |
| Optical Properties | Isotropic |
| Streak | White |
| Specific gravity | 3.67 - 3.9 |
| Diaphaneity | Transparent to translucent |
| Other Characteristics | Fluorescent, Long UV=light yellow. |
| References | [1][2][3] |
Periclase occurs naturally in contact metamorphic rocks and is a major component of most basic refractory bricks. It is a cubic form of magnesium oxide (MgO).
The old term for the mineral is magnesia. Stones from the Magnesia region in ancient Anatolia contained both magnesium oxide and hydrated magnesium carbonate as well as iron oxides (such as magnetite). Thus these stones, called Stones from Magnesia in antiquity, with their unusual magnetic properties were the reason the terms magnet and magnetism were coined. Periclase is usually found in marble and pure periclase is colorless.
[edit] References
- ^ http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/periclase.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy
- ^ http://webmineral.com/data/Periclase.shtml Webmineral data
- ^ http://www.mindat.org/min-3161.html Mindat
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