Elementary Mineralogy
What is a “Mineral”?
In ancient times, people divided all
things on Earth into the animal,
vegetable, or mineral kingdoms, so a
mineral was any natural inorganic
substance.
Today, dieticians use the term
“mineral” to refer to nutritional
elements such as calcium, iron, or
sodium
Miners often use the term “Minerals”
for anything they can take out of the
ground including coal, sand, or gravel.
Mineralogists and Geologists of the 20th
Century developed a more specific
definition of a mineral:
A mineral is a:
 -naturally-occurring,
 -homogeneous solid
 -with a definite, but generally not
fixed, chemical composition
 -and an ordered atomic
arrangement.
 -It is usually formed by inorganic
processes.
Naturally Occurring
 "Naturally occurring" means that
synthetic compounds not known to
occur in nature cannot have a
mineral name.
 It may occur anywhere (in other
planets or deep in the earth) as long
as there exists a natural sample to
describe.
Homogeneous Solid
 It consists of a single, solid
substance that cannot be physically
subdivided into simpler chemical
compounds.
The determination of homogeneity is difficult
because it is related to the scale on which it is
defined.
(Homogeneous when viewed by naked eye but
inhomogeneous when viewed with a
microscope at high magnification)
Definite, but generally not fixed, composition
Minerals can be expressed by a specific
chemical formula
For example:
 The chemical composition of Quartz is
SiO2
 Its formula is DEFINITE (does not
contain elements other than Si and O)
 Often referred as a pure substance
Most minerals however do not have
such well-defined (not fixed) chemical
compositions
Example: Dolomite Ca(Mg,Fe,Mn)(CO3)2
Ordered atomic arrangement
 A highly-ordered atomic arrangement
indicates an internal structural
framework of atoms (or ions) arranged
in a regular geometric pattern
 Minerals are crystalline.
 Crystalline materials are three-
dimensional periodic arrays of precise
geometric arrangement of atoms.
 Glasses such as obsidian, which are
disordered solids, liquids (e.g., water,
mercury), and gases (e.g., air) are not
minerals.
 Liquid water and mercury are classified
as MINERALOIDS.
Formed by Inorganic Processes
 "Inorganic processes" means that
crystalline organic compounds formed
by organisms, are generally not
considered minerals.
 However, carbonate shells are minerals
because they are identical to
compounds formed by purely inorganic
processes.
Glasses (obsidian), liquids, and gases are not
crystalline, and the elements in them may occur
in any ratios, so they are not minerals.
So, in order for a natural compound to be a
mineral, it must have a unique composition and
structure.
Mineralogy
The study of the chemistry, atomic structure,
physical properties, and genesis of minerals
Some Mineralogy Topics
Crystal Chemistry – relationship of
chemical composition to atomic
structure
Descriptive Mineralogy – documenting
physical and optical properties
Crystallography – relationship of crystal
symmetry and form to atomic structure
Mineral Genesis – interpreting the
geologic setting in which a mineral form
from its physical, chemical, and
structural attributes and its associated
minerals
Strong clues to a mineral's identity:
1. Crystal form and habit (shape).
2. Luster and transparency
3. Color and streak.
4. Cleavage, fracture, and parting.
5. Tenacity
6. Density
7. Hardness
Crystal Form and Habit
The term used to describe the general
shape of a crystal is habit.
The crystal faces developed on a specimen may
arise either as a result of growth or of cleavage.
In either case, they reflect the internal
symmetry of the crystal structure that makes
the mineral unique.
Examples:
 Quartz grows rapidly along its c-axis
(three-fold or trigonal symmetry axis)
direction and so never shows faces
perpendicular to this direction.
 The crystal faces commonly seen on
quartz are growth faces and represent
the slowest growing directions in the
structure.
 On the other hand, calcite rhomb faces
and mica plates are cleavages and
represent the weakest chemical bonds
in the structure.
Crystal Habit
 There is a complex terminology for
crystal faces, but some obvious names
for faces are prisms and pyramids.
 Crystals that commonly develop prism
faces are said to have a prismatic or
columnar habit.
 Crystals that grow in fine needles are
acicular; crystals growing flat plates are
tabular.
 Crystals forming radiating sprays of
needles or fibers are stellate.
 Crystals forming parallel fibers are
fibrous, and crystals forming branching,
tree-like growths are dendritic.
Luster and Transparency
 The way a mineral transmits or reflects
light is a diagnostic property.
 The transparency may be either
opaque, translucent, or transparent.
This reflectance property is called
luster.
 Native metals and many sulfides are
opaque and reflect most of the light
hitting their surfaces and have a
metallic luster.
 Other opaque or nearly opaque oxides
may appear dull, or resinous.
 Transparent minerals with a high index
of refraction such as diamond appear
brilliant and are said to have an
adamantine luster, whereas…
 those with a lower index of refraction
such as quartz or calcite appear glassy
and are said to have a vitreous luster.
Color and Streak
 Color is fairly self-explanatory property
describing the reflectance.
 Metallic minerals are either white, gray,
or yellow.
 The presence of transition metals with
unfilled electron shells (e.g. V, Cr, Mn,
Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) in oxide and silicate
minerals causes them to be opaque or
strongly colored so that the streak, the
mark that they leave when scratched on
a white ceramic tile, will also be
strongly colored.
Cleavage, Parting, and Fracture
 Because bonding is not of equal
strength in all directions in most
crystals, they will tend to break along
crystallographic directions giving them a
fracture property that reflects the
underlying structure and is frequently
diagnostic.
 A perfect cleavage results in regular
flat faces resembling growth faces such
as in mica, or calcite.
 A less well-developed cleavage is said to
be imperfect, or if very weak, a parting.
 If a fracture is irregular and results in a
rough surface, it is hackly.
 If the irregular fracture propagates as a
single surface resulting in a shiny
surface as in glass, the fracture is said to
be conchoidal.
Tenacity
 Tenacity is the ability of a mineral to
deform plastically under stress.
 Minerals may be brittle, that is, they do
not deform, but rather fracture, under
stress as do most silicates and oxides.
 They may be sectile, or be able to
deform so that they can be cut with a
knife.
 Or, they may be ductile and deform
readily under stress as does gold.
Density
 is a well-defined physical property
measured in g/cm3.
 Most silicates of light element have
densities in the range 2.6 to 3.5.
 Sulfides are typically 5 to 6.
 Iron metal about 8, lead about 13, gold
about 19, and osmium, the densest
substance, and a native element
mineral, is 22.
 Density may be measured by measuring
the volume, usually by displacing water
in a graduated cylinder, and the mass.
 Specific gravity is very similar to density,
but is a dimensionless quantity and is
measured in a slightly different way.
 Specific gravity is measured by
determining the weight in air (Wa) and
the weight in water (Ww) and
computing specific gravity from
SG = Wa / (Wa-Ww).
This scale is approximately linear up to
corundum, but diamond is
 approximately 5 times harder than an electrical charge at opposite end under
corundum. an applied thermal gradient).

Unique Properties Mineral Occurrences and

A few minerals may have easily tested unique Environments
properties that may greatly aid identification.
1. Igneous Minerals
 For example, halite (NaCl) (common table
2. Metamorphic minerals
salt) and sylvite (KCl) are very similar in
most of their physical properties, but 3. Sedimentary minerals
have a distinctly different taste on the
tongue, with sylvite having a more bitter 4. Hydrothermal Minerals
taste. 1. Igneous Minerals
 Whereas IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED  Minerals in igneous rocks must
THAT STUDENTS ROUTINELY TASTE have:
MINERAL SPECIMENS (some are toxic),  high melting points
taste can be used to distinguish between  and be able to co-exist
these two common minerals. with, or crystallize from,
 silicate melts at
 Another unique property that can be used temperatures above 800 º
to distinguish between otherwise similar C.
back opaque minerals is magnetism.
 Igneous rocks can be generally classed
 For example, magnetite (Fe3O4), ilmenite according to their silica content with:
(FeTiO3), and pyrolusite (MnO2) are all
dense, black, opaque minerals which can  low-silica (<< 50 % SiO2)
easily be distinguished by testing the igneous rocks being termed
magnetism with a magnet. basic or mafic,

 Magnetite is strongly magnetic and can  and high-silica igneous

be permanently magnetized to form a rocks being termed silicic or
lodestone; acidic.

 ilmenite is weakly magnetic; and  Basic igneous rocks (BIR) or Mafic

include:
 pyrolusite is not magnetic at all.
◦ basalts,
Other Properties ◦ dolerites,
◦ gabbro,
There are numerous other properties that are
◦ kimberlites,
diagnostic of minerals, but which generally
◦ and peridotites,
require more sophisticated devices to
measure or detect. and abundant minerals in such
rocks include:
For example, minerals containing the
elements U or Th are radioactive (although ◦ olivine,
generally not dangerously so), and this ◦ pyroxenes,
radioactivity can be easily detected with a ◦ Ca-feldspar (plagioclase),
Geiger counter. ◦ amphiboles,
◦ and biotite.
 Examples of radioactive minerals are
uraninite (UO2), thorite (ThSiO4), and  The abundance of Fe in these rocks
carnotite (K2(UO2)(VO4)2 rH2O). causes them to be dark-colored.
 Some minerals may also be fluorescent  Silicic igneous rocks (SIR) or Acidic
under ultraviolet light, that is they absorb include:
UV lights and emit in the visible.
◦ granites,
 Other optical properties such as index of ◦ granodiorites,
refraction and pleochroism (differential ◦ and rhyolites,
light absorption) require an optical
microscope to measure and are the and abundant minerals include:
subject of a major section of this course. ◦ quartz,
 Electrical conductivity is an important ◦ muscovite,
physical property but requires an ◦ and alkali feldspars.
impedance bridge to measure.  These are commonly light-
colored although color is not
 In general, native metals are good always diagnostic.
conductors,
 In addition to basic and silicic igneous
 sulfides of transition metals are semi- rocks, a third igneous mineral
conductors, environment representing the final
stages of igneous fractionation is called
 whereas most oxygen-bearing minerals
a pegmatite (PEG)
(i.e., silicates, carbonates, oxides, etc.) are
insulators.  Pegmatite- which is typically very
coarse-grained and similar in
 Additionally, quartz (SiO2) is piezoelectric
composition to silicic igneous rocks (i.e.
(develops an electrical charge at opposite
high in silica).
end under an applied mechanical stress);
and tourmaline is pyroelectric (develops
  Incompatible elements- Elements that ◦ and other phosphates, calcite,
do not readily substitute into the and clays.
abundant minerals and these typically
accumulate to form their own minerals
in pegmatites.

 Minerals containing the  Evaporite sedimentary minerals

incompatible elements, Li, Be, B, P,
Rb, Sr, Y, Nb, rare earths, Cs, and Ta
are typical and characteristic of
pegmatites.
2. Metamorphic minerals
 Minerals in metamorphic rocks have
crystallized from other minerals rather
than from melts and need not be stable
to such high temperatures as igneous
minerals.
 In a very general way, metamorphic
environments may be classified as:
◦ low-grade metamorphic (LGM)
(temperatures of 60 º to 400 º C
and pressures << .5 GPa (=15km
depth)
◦ high-grade metamorphic (HGM)
(temperatures > 400 º and/or
pressures > .5GPa).
 Mineral characteristic of low- grade
metamorphic environments include:
include:
◦ calcite,
◦ gypsum,
◦ anhydrite,
◦ halite
◦ and sylvite,
◦ plus, some of the borate
minerals
4. Hydrothermal minerals
 The fourth major mineral environment
is hydrothermal, minerals precipitated
from hot aqueous solutions associated
with emplacement of intrusive igneous
rocks.
 This environment is commonly grouped
with metamorphic environments, but
the minerals that form by this process
and the elements that they contain are
so distinct from contact or regional
metamorphic rocks that it us useful to
consider them as a separate group.
 These may be sub-classified as:

◦ zeolites, ◦ high temperature hydrothermal

◦ chlorites, (HTH),
◦ and andalusite. ◦ low temperature hydrothermal
(LTH),
 Mineral characteristic of high-grade
◦ and oxidized hydrothermal (OXH)
metamorphic environments include:
 Sulfides may occur in igneous and
◦ sillimanite,
metamorphic rocks, but are most
◦ kyanite,
typically hydrothermal.
◦ staurolite,
◦ epidote,  High temperature hydrothermal
◦ and amphiboles. minerals include:

◦ gold,
3. Sedimentary minerals
◦ silver,
 Minerals in sedimentary rocks are ◦ tungstate minerals,
either stable in: ◦ chalcopyrite,
◦ bornite,
◦ low-temperature hydrous
◦ the tellurides,
environments (e.g., clays)
◦ and molybdenite.
◦ or are high temperature minerals
that are extremely resistant to  Low temperature hydrothermal
chemical weathering (e.g., quartz). minerals include:

 One can think of sedimentary minerals ◦ barite,

as exhibiting a range of solubilities so
that:
◦ the most insoluble minerals such as
quartz, gold, and diamond
accumulate in the coarsest detrital
sedimentary rocks,
◦ less-resistant minerals such as
feldspars, which weather to clays,
accumulate in finer grained
siltstones and mudstones,
◦ and the most soluble minerals such
as calcite and halite (rock-salt) are
chemically precipitated in
evaporite deposits.
 Detrital sedimentary minerals include:
◦ quartz,
◦ gold,
◦ diamond,
◦ apatite
◦ gold,
◦ cinnabar,
◦ pyrite,
◦ and cassiterite.
Classification of Minerals
Minerals are classified on their chemistry,
particularly on the anionic element or
polyanionic group of elements that occur in the
mineral.
1. Native elements
 The first group of minerals is the native
elements, and as pure elements, these
minerals contain no anion or
polyanion.
 Native elements such as:
 Metals
 ◦ gold (Au),
◦ silver (Ag),
◦ copper (Cu),
◦ and platinum (Pt)
 Semi-metal
◦ graphite
 These minerals contain SO42- as the
major polyanion in which S6+ is
surrounded by four oxygen atoms in
a tetrahedron.
 Note that this group is distinct from
sulfides which contain no O.
 A familiar example is:
 gypsum (CaSO4 2H2O)

 Insulator 8. Phosphates
 The phosphates contain tetrahedral
◦ diamond (C) PO43- groups as the dominant
polyanion.
2. Sulfides
 A common example is:
The sulfides contain sulfur (S) as the
 apatite (Ca5(PO4)3(OH)) a
major "anion".
principal component of bones
and teeth.
 Although sulfides should not be
 The other trivalent tetrahedral
considered ionic, the sulfide minerals
polyanions:
rarely contain oxygen, so these
 arsenate AsO43-,
minerals form a chemically distinct
group.  and vanadate VO43- are
structurally and chemically
 Examples are: similar and are included in
this group.
◦ pyrite (FeS2),
◦ sphalerite (ZnS), 9. Borates
◦ and galena (PbS).  The borates contain triangular BO33-
◦ Minerals containing the or tetrahedral BO45-, and commonly
elements: both coordination may occur in the
same mineral.
 As,
 A common example is: borax
 Se,
(Na2BIII2BIV2O5(OH)4 8H2O).
 and Te

10. Silicates
3. Halides
 This group of minerals contains SiO44-
 The halides contain the halogen
as the dominant polyanion.
elements (F, Cl, Br, and I) as the
 In these minerals the Si4+ cation is
dominant anion.
always surrounded by 4 oxygens in
 These minerals are ionically bonded
the form of a tetrahedron.
and typically contain cations of alkali
 Because Si and O are the most
and alkaline earth elements (Na, K,
abundant elements in the Earth, this
and Ca).
is the largest group of minerals and is
 Familiar examples are:
divided into subgroups based on the
 halite (NaCl) (rock salt)
degree of polymerization of the SiO4
 and fluorite (CaF2).
tetrahedra.
4. Oxides
 The oxide minerals contain various
11. Orthosilicates
cations (not associated with a
 These minerals contain isolated SiO44-
polyanion) and oxygen.
polyanionic groups in which the
 Examples are:
oxygens of the polyanion are bound
 hematite (Fe2O3)
to one Si atom only, i.e., they are not
 and magnetite (Fe3O4)
polymerized.
 Examples are:
5. Hydroxides
 Forsterite (Mg-olivine,
 These minerals contain the polyanion
Mg2SiO4),
OH- as the dominant anionic species.
 and pyrope (Mg-garnet,
 Examples include:
Mg3Al2Si3O12).
 brucite (Mg (OH)2)
 and gibbsite (Al (OH)3).
12. Sorosilicate
 These minerals contain double
silicate tetrahedra in which one of
6. Carbonates
the oxygens is shared with an
 The carbonates contain CO32- as the
adjacent tetrahedron, so that the
dominant polyanion in which C4+ is
polyanion has formula (Si2O7)6-
sur rounded by three O2- anions in a
 An example is:
planar triangular arrangement.
 epidote (Ca2Al2FeO(OH)SiO4
 A familiar example is:
Si2O7), a mineral common in
 calcite (CaCO3).
metamorphic rocks.
 Because NO3- shares this geometry,
the nitrate minerals such as soda
niter (nitratite) (NaNO3) are included
13. Cyclosilicates
in this group.
 These minerals contain typically six-
membered rings of silicate
7. Sulfates
tetrahedra with formula. (Si6O17)10-.
  An example is:
 Tourmaline

14. Chain silicates

 These minerals contain SiO4
polyhedral that are polymerized in
one direction to form chains.
 They may be single chains, so that of
the four oxygens coordinating the Si
atom, two are shared with adjacent
tetrahedra to form an infinite chain
with formula (SiO3)2-.
 The single chain silicates include the
pyroxene and pyroxenoid minerals
which are common constituents of
igneous rocks.
 Or they may form double chains
with formula (Si4O11)8-, as in the
amphibole minerals, which are
common in metamorphic rocks.

15. Sheet silicates

 These minerals contain SiO4
polyhedral that are polymerized in
two dimensions to form sheets with
formula (Si4O10)4-.
 Common examples are:
 the micas in which the cleavage
reflects the sheet structure of
the mineral

16. Framework silicates

 These minerals SiO4 polyhedral that
are polymerized in three dimensions
to form a framework with formula
(SiO2) 0.
 Common examples are:
 quartz (SiO2)
 and the feldspars (NaAlSi3O8)
which are the most abundant
minerals in the Earth's crust.
 In the feldspars Al3+ may substitute
for Si4+ in the tetrahedra, and the
resulting charge imbalance is
compensated by an alkali cation (Na
or K) in interstices in the framework.
 4. Rotoinversion

 Rotoinversion is a compound symmetry

operation which is produced by
performing a rotation followed by an
Crystal Structure & inversion.

Crystal System Terms to remember

Crystallography has developed a descriptive  A specified motif which is translated

terminology which is applied to crystals and
crystal features in order to describe their
structure, symmetry, and shape.
This terminology defines the crystal
lattice which provides a mineral with its
ordered internal structure. It also
describes various types of symmetry.
By considering what type of symmetry a
mineral species possesses, the species
may be categorized as a member of one
of seven crystal systems and one of
thirty-two crystal classes.
Terms to remember
 Symmetry describes the periodic
repetition of structural features
 Two general types of symmetry exist:  three-dimensional space only fourteen
 translational symmetry  different lattices may be constructed
 and point symmetry
 Translational symmetry describes the
periodic repetition of a motif across a
length or through an area or volume.
 Point symmetry, on the other hand,
describes the periodic repetition of a
motif around a point.
linearly and repeated many times will
produce a lattice.
 A lattice is an array of points which
define a repeated spatial entity called
a unit cell.
 The unit cell of a lattice is the smallest
unit which can be repeated in three
dimensions in order to construct the
lattice.
 The corners of the unit cell serve as
points which are repeated to form the
lattice array; these points are
termed lattice points. 
 In the plane only five different lattices
may be produced by translation.
 The French crystallographer Auguste
Bravais (1811-1863) established that in
(termed the Bravais lattices.)
7 Crystal systems

Point Symmetry operations

1. Reflection

2. Rotation

3. Inversion

4. Rotoinversion

1. Reflection

 A reflection occurs when a motif on one

side of a plane passing through the  Cubic/Isometric
center of a crystal is the mirror image of  PIF
a motif which appears on the other side  Tetragonal
of the plane.   PI
 Orthorhombic
2. Rotational symmetry 
 PIFC
 Rotational symmetry arises when a  Hexagonal
structural element is rotated a fixed  P
number of degrees about a central  Monoclinic
point before it is repeated.  PC
 An object has rotational symmetry if  Triclinic
there is a center point around which the  P
object is turned (rotated) a certain  Trigonal (Rhombohedral)
number of degrees and the object looks  P
the same. 
Every crystal class which belongs to a
 The number of positions in which the
certain crystal system will share a characteristic
object looks exactly the same is called
symmetry element with the other members of
the order of the symmetry. 
its system.
 When determining order, the last
rotation returns the object to its
original position.

3. Inversion

 If a crystal possesses inversion
symmetry, then every line drawn
through the center of the crystal will
connect two identical features on
opposite sides of the crystal. 
Cubic/ISOMETRIC CRYSTAL SYSTEM  Examples:
 Quartz SiO2
 The crystallographic axes used in this
 Apatite
system are of equal length and are mutually
 Beryl
perpendicular, occurring at right angles to
 Aquamarine
one another. 

Trigonal/rhombohedral

 Example:
 Apophyllite

Tetragonal

 Minerals of the tetragonal crystal system

are referred to three mutually
perpendicular axes.
 The two horizontal axes are of equal length,
while the vertical axis is of different length
and may be either shorter or longer than
the other two.
 Minerals of this system all possess a single
4-fold symmetry axis.
 All crystals of the isometric system  They may possess up to four 2-fold axes of
possess four 3-fold axes of symmetry, rotation, a center of inversion, and up to
each of which proceeds diagonally from five mirror planes.
corner to corner through the center of
the cubic unit cell.
 Crystals of the isometric system may
also demonstrate up to three separate
4-fold axes of rotational symmetry.
These axes, if present, proceed from
the center of each face through the
origin to the center of the opposite face
and correspond to the crystallographic
axes.
 Furthermore crystals of the isometric
system may possess six 2-fold axes of
symmetry which extend from the
 Examples:
center of each edge of the crystal
 Zircon
through the origin to the center of the
 Scheelite
opposite edge. Minerals of this system
 Apophyllite
may demonstrate up to nine different
mirror planes.
 Examples: Orthorhombic crystal system
 Garnet Fe3Al2(SiO4)3
 Halite NaCl
 Fluorite CaF2
 Pyrite FeS2

HEXAGONAL

 Minerals of the hexagonal crystal system

are referred to three crystallographic axes
which intersect at 120° and a fourth which
is perpendicular to the other three. This
fourth axis is usually depicted vertically.
 Minerals of the orthorhombic crystal
system are referred to three mutually
perpendicular axes, each of which is of a
different length than the others.
 Crystals of this system uniformly possess
three 2-fold rotation axes and/or three
mirror planes.
 The holomorphic class demonstrates three
2-fold symmetry axes and three mirror
planes as well as a center of inversion.
 Other classes may demonstrate three 2-fold
axes of rotation or one 2-fold rotation axis
and two mirror planes.
 Crystals of this system tend to be of
prismatic, tabular, or acicular habit.
 Examples:
 Topaz
 Barite
 Olivine

Monoclinic crystal system

 Crystals of the monoclinic system are

referred to three unequal axes.
 Two of these axes are inclined toward each
other at an oblique angle; these are usually
depicted vertically.
 The third axis is perpendicular to the other
two.
 The two vertical axes therefore do not
intersect one another at right angles,
although both are perpendicular to the
horizontal axis.
 Examples:
 Orthoclase
 Azurite
 Malachite

Triclinic crystal system

 Examples:
 Axinite
 Plagioclase
 CRYSTALS & CRYSTALLIZATION
WHAT IS A CRYSTAL?
 Crystals refer to any solid compound having
an ordered, repetitive, atomic structure.
 The atomic structure may or may not result
in flat crystal faces and a gemmy
appearance.
ALL MINERALS ARE CRYSTALLINE, BUT
PERFECTLY FORMED CRYSTALS ARE RARE.
Terms to remember:
 EUHEDRAL - When faces on a mineral
are flat and fully developed, giving the
mineral a geometric shape
 ANHEDRAL - When no crystal faces are
visible
 SUBHEDRAL -Minerals that fall
between euhedral and anhedral
 AMORPHOUS - mineral-like substances
having random atomic structures
Glassy or vitreous textures occur during some
volcanic eruptions when the lava is quenched so
rapidly that crystallization cannot occur.
 The formation of crystals involves the
bringing together and ordering of
constituent elements.
 Crystals grow from a single molecule to
their final visible form.
 If the conditions are right, crystals may
grow to be very large.
FACTORS CONTROLLING CRYSTAL SIZE AND
PERFECTION
1. TEMPERATURE
2. TIME
3. ABUNDANCE OF NECESSARY ELEMENTS
4. PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF FLUX
1. TEMPERATURE
 At high temperatures, atoms are very
mobile. Crystals can grow quickly; large
and well-formed crystals may be the
result.
 Crystals that form at high temperatures
have simpler atomic structures than
those that are stable at low
temperatures.
Nucleation and Growth of Crystals
 At the solidification temperature,
atoms from the liquid, such as
molten metal, begin to bond
together and start to form crystals.
 The moment a crystal begins to
grow is know as nucleus and the
point where it occurs is the
nucleation point.
 When a metal begins to solidify,
multiple crystals begin to grow in
the liquid.
 The final sizes of the individual
crystals depend on the number of
nucleation points.
 The crystals increase in size by the
progressive addition of atoms and
grow until they impinge upon
adjacent growing crystal.
2. TIME
 If a crystal has a long time to grow, it
will naturally be larger and better
ordered than one that grows quickly.
 More atoms have time to migrate to
the growing crystal and to order
themselves in a regular way.
 This explains why intrusive, igneous
rocks, which cool slowly underground,
are coarser grained than extrusive
igneous rocks of the same composition.
 Some extrusive igneous rocks, such as
obsidian, cool so quickly that they
contain glass.
3. ABUNDANCE OF NECESSARY ELEMENTS
 Whatever the time and temperature,
crystals cannot grow large if the
necessary elements are not available.
4. FLUX
 If a fluid such as an interstitial water or
a magma is present at act as flux,
transporting atoms to growing crystals.
 If a flux is present, elements may be
carried long distances to sites of
mineral growth, and even minerals
composed of rare elements may grow
to be large.
DEFECTS
CRYSTAL DEFECTS
 While a crystal may look perfect in the
outside, atomic structures always
contain some flaws, called defects.
 Low strength of many crystals was due
to structural defects (A.R. Griffiths,
1921).
 No mineral is perfectly pure;
 Minerals always contain minor or trace
amounts of elements not described by
their formula, often at levels not
detected by standard analytical
techniques.
EQUIPMENT USED TO DETECT CRYSTAL
DEFECTS
 Transmission Electron microscope
(TEM)
 High-Resolution Transmission
Electron Microscope (HRTM)
 advanced X-ray
TYPES OF DEFECTS
1. Impurity defect
 The simplest type of defect; Occurs
when a foreign atom is present in a
minerals atomic structure.
2. Point defects
 The atom may replace one
normally in the structure, or it may
occupy an interstitial site. This may
occur at one or a few points in the
structure.
3. Schottky Defect
 Occur when an atom is displaced
from a structure altogether.
  Schottky defects involve both
cations and anions.
 To maintain charge neutrality, Polysynthetic Twinning
missing anions must be  A type of multiple contact
compensated by missing cations. twinning is called
4. Frenkel defects polysynthetic.
 The compositions surfaces are
 Occur when an atom is displaced from parallel to one another, they
position it normally occupies to an
are called Polysynthetic.
interstitial site.
 Frenkel defects may affect cations and  Plagioclase commonly shows
anions. this type of twinning, called the
 Cation defects are more common Albite Twin Law, with {010} as
because anions are larger and usually the twin plane.
more securely bonded in place.  Such twinning is one of the
most diagnostic features of
OTHER TYPES OF DEFECTS plagioclase.

 Line defects
 Edge dislocations
 Screw dislocations

 Plane defects

TWINNING
 A twin is a symmetrical intergrowth of
two (or more) crystals of the same
substance.
 Crystallography controlled such
intergrowths are called twinned
crystals.
 The study of the types of twin crystals
shown by different substances and the
formulation of the laws governing their
formation is an important part of
crystallography.
 Twin crystals of quartz may occur as:

 Brazil Twins
Brazil law with the twin plane
parallel to (11-20). Here right- and left-
hand individuals have formed a
penetration twin.

 Dauphine Twin
A penetration twin with c the
twin axis. Such twins are composed of
two right or two left hand individuals.

 Japanese Law
With the twin plane (11-21).
The reentrant angles usually present on
twinned crystals do not shot on either
brazil or dauphine twins.
This Twin law is named from
the prevalence of these twins at a
locality in Kai province, Japan.
 CRYSTAL MORPHOLOGY
 The symmetry observed in crystals as
exhibited by their crystal faces is due to the
ordered internal arrangement of atoms in
a crystal structure.
 This arrangement of atoms in crystals is
called a lattice.
 In 2-dimensions a plane lattice consists of
an orderly array of points.
 The array is defined by the spacing between
points and the directions (or angles)
between the points.
 Thus, the array can be reproduced by
specifying the distance and angle to move
from point to point. This is referred to as
translational symmetry.
 Crystals, of course, are made up of 3-
dimensional arrays of atoms.
 Such 3-dimensional arrays are called space
lattices.
 For now, however, we will study plane
lattices and note that everything that
applies to these 2- dimensional lattice also
applies to space lattices.
 There are four important points about
crystal lattices that are noteworthy for our
study of crystals:
1. Crystal faces develop along planes defined by
the points in the lattice. In other words, all
crystal faces must intersect atoms or molecules
that make up the points.
A face is more commonly developed in a crystal
if it intersects a larger number of lattice points.
This is known as the Bravais Law.
2. The angle between crystal faces is controlled
by the spacing between lattice points
3. Since all crystals of the same substance will
have the same spacing between lattice points
(they have the same crystal structure), the
angles between corresponding faces of the
same mineral will be the same. This is known as
the Law of constancy of interfacial angles.
4. The symmetry of the lattice will determine
the angular relationships between crystal faces.
Thus, in imperfect crystals or distorted crystals
where the lengths of the edges or faces of
symmetry related faces are not equal, the
symmetry can still be determined by the angles
between the faces.
In order to know which faces on
different crystals are the corresponding faces,
we need some kind of standard coordinate
system onto which we can orient the crystals
and thus be able to refer to different directions
and different planes within the crystals. Such a
coordinate system is based on the concept of
the crystallographic axes.
CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC AXES
 The crystallographic axes are imaginary
lines that we can draw within the crystal
lattice. These will define a coordinate
system within the crystal.
 For 3-dimensional space lattices we need 3
or in some cases 4 crystallographic axes
that define directions within the crystal
lattices.
 Depending on the symmetry of the lattice,
the directions may or may not be
perpendicular to one another, and the
divisions along the coordinate axes may or
may not be equal along the axes.
 Each crystal system has different
conventions that define the orientation of
the axes, and the relative lengths of the
axes.
INTERCEPTS OF CRYSTAL FACES (WEISS
PARAMETERS)
 Crystal faces can be defined by their
intercepts on the crystallographic axes. For
non-hexagonal crystals, there are three
cases:
1. A crystal face intersects only one of the
crystallographic axes.
As an example, the top crystal face
shown here intersects the c axis but does
not intersect the a or b axes.
2. A crystal face intersects two of the
crystallographic axes.
As an example, the darker crystal face
shown here intersects the a and b axes, but
not the c axis.
 3.
A

CRYSTAL FACE THAT INTERSECTS ALL 3 AXES.

In this example the darker face is

assumed to intersect the a, b, and c
crystallographic axes at one unit length on each

GENERAL RULES
 Miller indices are used to express
lattice planes and directions
 x, y, z are the axes (on arbitrarily
positioned origin)
 a, b, c are lattice parameters (length
of unit cell along a side)

TWO VERY IMPORTANT POINTS ABOUT

 h, k, l are the Miller indices for
planes and directions --expressed as
INTERCEPTS OF FACES:
planes: (hkl) and directions: [hkl]
 The intercepts or parameters are relative
values, and do not indicate any actual
cutting lengths. CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC DIRECTIONS

 Since they are relative, a face can be moved

parallel to itself without changing its
relative intercepts or parameters.

 By specifying the intercepts or parameters

of a crystal face, we now have a way to
uniquely identify each face of a crystal.

 But the notation is cumbersome, so

crystallographers have developed another
way of identifying or indexing faces. This
conventional notation called the Miller
Index.

CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC DIRECTIONS &

PLANES
 It is often necessary to be able to specify
CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC FACES (for CUBIC)
certain directions and planes in crystals.
 Many material properties and processes
STEPS in determining the Miller Index of a face
vary with direction in the crystal.
 Directions and planes are described using
1. Identify the intercepts
three integers - Miller Indices
2. Specify the intercepts in fractional co-
POINT DIRECTIONS ordinates
3. Take the reciprocals of the fractional
 Point position specified in terms of its intercepts
coordinates as fractional multiples of the
Intercepts: a , ∞ , ∞
unit cell edge lengths
Fractional Intercepts: a/a , ∞/a, ∞/a i.e. 1 , ∞ ,
∞
Miller Indices : (100) So the surface/plane
illustrated is the (100) plane of the cubic crystal.

Some General Principles

 If a Miller index is zero, the plane is

parallel to that axis.

 The smaller a Miller index, the more

nearly parallel the plane is to the axis.

 The larger a Miller index, the more

nearly perpendicular a plane is to that
axis.

 Multiplying or dividing a Miller index by

a constant has no effect on the
orientation of the plane

 Miller indices are almost always small.

Why Miller Indices?

 Using reciprocals spares us the
complication of infinite intercepts.

 Formulas involving Miller indices are

very similar to related formulas from
analytical geometry.

 Specifying dimensions in unit cell terms

means that the same label can be
applied to any face with a similar
stacking pattern, regardless of the
crystal class of the crystal. Face 111
always steps the same way regardless of
crystal system