Image Gallery: Lab 3 | Structure of Earth Materials | Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences | MIT OpenCourseWare

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Image Gallery: Lab 3

Single Chain Ino-Silicates (Pyroxenes)

(Clinopyroxene) Spodumene: LiAlSi₂O₆. (Orthopyroxene) Enstatite: Mg₂Si₂O₆. Diopside showing crystal faces. Diopside showing crystal faces. Radiating acicular wollastonite crystals: Ca₃Si₃O₉. Large fibrous wollastonite crystals: Ca₃Si₃O₁₀. Botryoidal, crystalline, and fine grained massive rhodonite: Mn₅Si₅O₁₅. Rhodonite showing cleavage surface: Mn₅Si₅O₁₆.

Double Chain Ino-Silicates (Amphiboles)

Hornblende: (Na,Ca)₂(Mg,Fe,Al)₅(Al,Si)₈O₂₂(OH)₂. Radiating anthophyllite crystals: (Mg,Fe)₇Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂. Fibrous acicular tremolite: Ca₂Mg₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂. Fibrous acicular tremolite: Ca₂Mg₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₃. Intergrown actinolite crystals: Ca₂(Mg,Fe)₅Si₈O₂₂(OH)₂.

Phyllosilicates

Veins of fibrous serpentine (chrysotile): Mg₃Si₂O₅(OH)₄. Massive fibrous serpentine: Mg₃Si₂O₅(OH)₅. Massive serpentine: Mg₃Si₂O₅(OH)₆. Muscovite single crystals showing perfect basal cleavage: KAl₂AlSi₃O₁₀(OH)₂. Muscovite single crystals showing perfect basal cleavage: KAl₂AlSi₃O₁₀(OH)₂. Biotite crystal in feldspar showing perfect basal cleavage: K(Mg,Fe)₃(AlSi₃O₁₀)(OH)₂. Biotite crystals showing perfect basal cleavage: K(Mg,Fe)₃(AlSi₃O₁₀)(OH)₃. Massive granular lepidolite: K(Li,Al)_2-3(AlSi₃O₁₀)(OH)₂. Talc crystals showing perfect cleavage: Mg₃Si₄O₁₀(OH)₂.

Tectosilicates

Capped quartz showing crystal faces: SiO₂. Quartz crystals: SiO₂. Quartz (agate): SiO₂. Albite crystals: NaAlSi₃O₈. Albite crystals showing cleavage faces: CaAl₂Si₂O₈. Intergrown K-Feldspar crystals and fragment showing perthite lamelli: KAlSi₃O₈. K-Feldspar showing perthite lemelli: KAlSi₃O₉. K-Feldspar: KAlSi₃O₁₀. Leucite crystals in basalt: KAlSi₂O₆. Intergrown sodalite: Na₈(AlSiO₄)₆Cl₂ and nepheline: (Na,K)AlSiO₄.

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Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences

As Taught In

Fall 2004

Level

Undergraduate

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