Feldspar

Compositional phase diagram of the different minerals that constitute the feldspar solid solution.

Feldspars (KAlSi₃O₈ – NaAlSi₃O₈ – CaAl₂Si₂O₈) are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals that make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust.^[2]

Feldspars crystallize from magma as veins in both intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks and are also present in many types of metamorphic rock.^[3] Rock formed almost entirely of calcic plagioclase feldspar (see below) is known as anorthosite.^[4] Feldspars are also found in many types of sedimentary rocks.^[5]

Etymology

The name feldspar derives from the German Feldspat, a compound of the words Feld, "field", and Spat, "a rock that does not contain ore". The change from Spat to -spar was influenced by the English word "spar", a synonym for "mineral".^[6] "Feldspathic" refers to materials that contain feldspar. The alternate spelling, felspar, has largely fallen out of use.

Compositions

This group of minerals consists of tectosilicates. Compositions of major elements in common feldspars can be expressed in terms of three endmembers:

Potassium-Feldspar (K-spar) endmember KAlSi₃O₈^[2]

Albite endmember NaAlSi₃O₈^[2]

Anorthite endmember CaAl₂Si₂O₈^[2]

Solid solutions between K-feldspar and albite are called alkali feldspar.^[2] Solid solutions between albite and anorthite are called plagioclase,^[2] or more properly plagioclase feldspar. Only limited solid solution occurs between K-feldspar and anorthite, and in the two other solid solutions, immiscibility occurs at temperatures common in the crust of the earth. Albite is considered both a plagioclase and alkali feldspar.

Alkali feldspars

The alkali feldspars are as follows:

• orthoclase (monoclinic)^[7]—KAlSi₃O₈
• sanidine (monoclinic)^[8]—(K,Na)AlSi₃O₈
• microcline (triclinic)^[9]—KAlSi₃O₈
• anorthoclase (triclinic)—(Na,K)AlSi₃O₈

Sanidine is stable at the highest temperatures, and microcline at the lowest.^[7][8] Perthite is a typical texture in alkali feldspar, due to exsolution of contrasting alkali feldspar compositions during cooling of an intermediate composition. The perthitic textures in the alkali feldspars of many granites can be seen with the naked eye.^[10] Microperthitic textures in crystals are visible using a light microscope, whereas cryptoperthitic textures can be seen only with an electron microscope.

Barium feldspars

Barium feldspars are also considered alkali feldspars. Barium feldspars form as the result of the substitution of barium for potassium in the mineral structure. The barium feldspars are monoclinic and include the following:

• celsian—BaAl₂Si₂O₈^[11]
• hyalophane—(K,Ba)(Al,Si)₄O₈^[12]

Plagioclase feldspars

The plagioclase feldspars are triclinic. The plagioclase series follows (with percent anorthite in parentheses):

• albite (0 to 10)—NaAlSi₃O₈
• oligoclase (10 to 30)—(Na,Ca)(Al,Si)AlSi₂O₈
• andesine (30 to 50)—NaAlSi₃O₈—CaAl₂Si₂O₈
• labradorite (50 to 70)—(Ca,Na)Al(Al,Si)Si₂O₈
• bytownite (70 to 90)—(NaSi,CaAl)AlSi₂O₈
• anorthite (90 to 100)—CaAl₂Si₂O₈

Intermediate compositions of plagioclase feldspar also may exsolve to two feldspars of contrasting composition during cooling, but diffusion is much slower than in alkali feldspar, and the resulting two-feldspar intergrowths typically are too fine-grained to be visible with optical microscopes. The immiscibility gaps in the plagioclase solid solutions are complex compared to the gap in the alkali feldspars. The play of colours visible in some feldspar of labradorite composition is due to very fine-grained exsolution lamellae.

Weathering

Chemical weathering of feldspars results in the formation of clay minerals.^[13]

Production and uses

About 20 million tonnes of feldspar were produced in 2010, mostly by three countries: Italy (4.7 Mt), Turkey (4.5 Mt), and China (2 Mt).^[14]

Feldspar is a common raw material used in glassmaking, ceramics, and to some extent as a filler and extender in paint, plastics, and rubber. In glassmaking, alumina from feldspar improves product hardness, durability, and resistance to chemical corrosion. In ceramics, the alkalis in feldspar (calcium oxide, potassium oxide, and sodium oxide) act as a flux, lowering the melting temperature of a mixture. Fluxes melt at an early stage in the firing process, forming a glassy matrix that bonds the other components of the system together. In the US, about 66% of feldspar is consumed in glassmaking, including glass containers and glass fiber. Ceramics (including electrical insulators, sanitaryware, pottery, tableware, and tile) and other uses, such as fillers, accounted for the remainder.^[15]

In earth sciences and archaeology, feldspars are used for K-Ar dating, argon-argon dating, thermoluminescence dating, and optical dating.

In October 2012, the Mars Curiosity rover analyzed a rock that turned out to have a high feldspar content.^[16]

• 

  Feldspar output in 2005.

• 

  Lunar ferrous anorthosite #60025 (plagioclase feldspar). Collected by Apollo 16 from the Lunar Highlands near Descartes Crater. This sample is currently on display at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

• 

  Labradorite.

• 

  First X-ray view of Martian soil—feldspar, pyroxenes, olivine revealed (Curiosity rover at "Rocknest", October 17, 2012).^[1]

1. ^ Brown, Dwayne (October 30, 2012). "NASA Rover's First Soil Studies Help Fingerprint Martian Minerals". NASA. Retrieved October 31, 2012. 

See also

• List of minerals
• List of countries by feldspar production

References

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document: "Feldspar and nepheline syenite" (PDF). 

Further reading

• Bonewitz, Ronald Louis (2005). Rock and Gem. New York: DK Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7566-3342-4.

External links

• Media related to Feldspar at Wikimedia Commons