| Analcime | |
|---|---|
| General | |
| Category | Zeolite mineral |
| Chemical formula | NaAlSi2O6·H2O |
| Identification | |
| Color | White, colorless, gray, pink, greenish, yellowish |
| Crystal habit | Typically in crystals, usually trapezohedrons, also massive to granular. |
| Crystal system | Cubic; tetragonal, orthorhombic, or monoclinic, pseudocubic, with degree of ordering. |
| Twinning | Polysynthetic on [001], [110] |
| Cleavage | Very poor [100] |
| Fracture | Uneven to subconchoidal |
| Mohs scale hardness | 5 - 5.5 |
| Luster | Vitreous |
| Streak | White |
| Specific gravity | 2.24 - 2.29 |
| Optical properties | Isotropic; anomalously biaxial (-) |
| Refractive index | n = 1.479 - 1.493 |
| Fusibility | 3.5 |
| Other characteristics | Weakly piezoelectric; weakly electrostatic when rubbed or heated. |
| References | [1] |
Analcime or analcite (from the Greek analkimos - "weak") is a white, grey, or colourless tectosilicate mineral. Analcime consists of hydrated sodium aluminium silicate in cubic crystalline form. Its chemical formula is NaAlSi2O6·H2O. Minor amounts of potassium and calcium substitute for sodium. A silver-bearing synthetic variety also exists (Ag-analcite).
Analcime is usually classified as a zeolite mineral, but structurally and chemically it is more similar to the feldspathoids. Analcime occurs as a primary mineral in analcime basalt and other alkaline igneous rocks. It also occurs as cavity and vesicle fillings associated with prehnite, calcite, and zeolites.
Locations include the Cyclopean Islands east off Sicily and near Trentino in northern Italy; Victoria in Australia; Kerguelen Island in the Indian Ocean; in the Lake Superior copper district of Michigan, Bergen Hill, New Jersey, Golden, Colorado, and at Searles Lake, California in the United States; and at Cape Blomidon, Nova Scotia and Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec in Canada; and in Iceland.