Sphalerite ((Zn,Fe)S) is a mineral that is the chief ore of zinc. Zinc (ˈzɪŋk from Zink is a Metallic Chemical element with the symbol Zn and Atomic number 30 Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 Sulfur or sulphur (ˈsʌlfɚ see spelling below) is the Chemical element that has the Atomic number 16 A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific An ore is a volume of rock containing components or Minerals in a mode of occurrence that renders it valuable for mining Zinc (ˈzɪŋk from Zink is a Metallic Chemical element with the symbol Zn and Atomic number 30 It consists largely of zinc sulfide in crystalline form but almost always contains variable iron. Zinc sulfide (or zinc sulphide is a Chemical compound with the formula Zn[[Sulfur S]] In Materials science, a crystal is a Solid in which the constituent Atoms Molecules or Ions are packed in a regularly ordered repeating Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 When iron content is high it is an opaque black variety, marmatite. It is usually found in association with galena, pyrite, and other sulfides along with calcite, dolomite, and fluorite. Galena is the natural mineral form of Lead sulfide. It is the most important Lead Ore mineral The term sulfide ( sulphide in British English) refers to several types of Chemical compounds containing Sulfur in its lowest Oxidation Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of Calcium carbonate ( Ca[[carbon C]] O 3 Dolomite (ˈdɒləmaɪt is the name of a Sedimentary Carbonate rock and a Mineral, both composed Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is a Mineral composed of Calcium fluoride, Ca[[Fluorine F2]] Miners have also been known to refer to sphalerite as zinc blende, mock lead, false galena and black-jack.
The mineral crystallizes in the cubic crystal system. The cubic crystal system (or isometric) is a Crystal system where the Unit cell is in the shape of a Cube. A crystal system is a category of Space groups which characterize Symmetry of structures in three dimensions with Translational symmetry in three directions In the crystal structure, zinc and sulfur atoms are tetrahedrally coordinated. The structure is closely related to the structure of diamond. In Mineralogy, diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in The hexagonal analog is known as the wurtzite structure. In Crystallography, the hexagonal is one of the 7 Crystal system, it contains 7 Point groups. This article is about the mineral wurtzite For the wurtzite crystal structure see Wurtzite (crystal structure. The lattice constant for zinc sulfide in the zincblende crystal structure is 0. 596 nm, calculated from geometry and ionic radii of 0. A nanometre ( American spelling: nanometer, symbol nm) ( Greek: νάνος nanos dwarf; μετρώ metrό count) is a 074 nm (zinc) and 0. 184 nm (sulfide). It forms ABCABC layers.
Its color is usually yellow, brown, or gray to gray-black, and it may be shiny or dull. Its luster is resinous. Lustre (or luster) is a description of the way light interacts with the surface of a Crystal, rock, or Mineral. It has a yellow or light brown streak, a hardness of 3. A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific The Mohs scale of mineral hardness characterizes the scratch resistance of various Minerals through the ability of a harder material to scratch a softer material 5 - 4, and a specific gravity of 3. Specific gravity is defined as the ratio of the Density of a given solid or liquid substance to the density of water at a specific temperature and pressure typically 9-4. 1. Some specimens have a red iridescence within the gray-black crystals; these are called "ruby sphalerite. Iridescence is an Optical phenomenon in which Hue changes with the angle from which a surface is viewed " The pale yellow and red varieties have very little iron and are translucent. The darker more opaque varieties contain more iron. Some specimens are also fluorescent in ultraviolet light. Fluorescence is a Luminescence that is mostly found as an Ultraviolet ( UV) light is Electromagnetic radiation with a Wavelength shorter than that of Visible light, but longer than X-rays The refractive index of sphalerite (as measured via sodium light, 589. The refractive index (or index of Refraction) of a medium is a measure for how much the speed of light (or other waves such as sound waves is reduced inside the medium A sodium vapor lamp is a Gas discharge lamp which uses Sodium in an excited state to produce Light 3 nm) is 2. 37. Sphalerite crystallizes in the isometric crystal system and possesses perfect dodecahedral cleavage. The cubic crystal system (or isometric) is a Crystal system where the Unit cell is in the shape of a Cube. Cleavage, in Mineralogy, is the tendency of crystalline materials to split along definite planes creating smooth surfaces of which there are several named types Gemmy, pale specimens from Franklin, New Jersey (see Franklin Furnace) are highly fluorescent orange and/or blue under longwave ultraviolet light and are known as cleiophane, an almost pure ZnS variety. see also Franklin Township New Jersey, Franklin Lakes New Jersey Franklin is a Borough in Sussex County, Franklin Furnace is a famous mineral location for rare Zinc, Iron, Manganese minerals in old mines in Franklin New Jersey, USA.
Crystals of suitable size and transparency have been fashioned into gemstones, usually featuring the brilliant cut to best display sphalerite's high dispersion of 0. A gemstone or gem, also called a precious or semi-precious stone, is a piece of attractive Mineral, which &mdash when cut and polished &mdash A brilliant is a diamond or other Gemstone, cut in a particular form with numerous facets so as to have especial brilliancy In Optics, dispersion is the phenomenon in which the Phase velocity of a wave depends on its frequency 156 (B-G interval)—over three times that of diamond. In Mineralogy, diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in Freshly cut gems are lively with an adamantine luster and could conceivably be mistaken for a fancy-colored diamond in passing, but due to sphalerite's softness and fragility the gems are best left unset as collector's or museum pieces (although some have been set into pendants). A museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development open to the public which acquires conserves researches communicates and exhibits the Collectors may pay a premium for stones over one carat (200 mg), as clean crystals are usually quite small. The carat is a unit of Mass used for measuring gems and Pearls Currently a carat is defined as exactly 200 mg (0 Gem-quality material is usually a yellowish to honey brown, red to orange, or green; the two most important sources are the Chivera mine, Cananea, Sonora, Mexico; and the Picos de Europa, Cordillera Cantabrica, near Santander on Spain's northern coast. Cananea (from the Apache term for "horse meat" is a city in the northern Mexican state of Sonora. Sonora is one of the 31 federal states of Mexico and is located in the northwest of the country The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The Picos de Europa (literally "Peaks of Europe" is a range of Mountains some 20 km inland from the northern coast of Spain, located in the Autonomous Cantabrian Mountains ( Cordillera Cantábrica in Spanish) are a Mountain range which extends for more than approximately 180 Miles (300 The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain between Asturias (to the west and Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
See also
External links
- The sphalerite structure
- Possible relation of Sphalerite to origins of life and precursor chemicals in 'Primordial Soup'
- Mineralienatlas:Sphalerit (Geological Wiki)
References
- Dana's Manual of Mineralogy ISBN 0-471-03288-3
- Webster, R. This is a List of Minerals for which there are Wikipedia articles , Read, P. G. (Ed. ) (2000). Gems: Their sources, descriptions and identification (5th ed. ), p. 386. Butterworth-Heinemann, Great Britain. ISBN 0-7506-1674-1
- mindat.org
- Minerals.net
- Minerals of Franklin, NJ
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic