Microcline

Microcline
Optical properties - Microcline
Microcline feldspar
Crystal System: Triclinic
Color in PPL: Colorless
Pleochroism: N/A
Habit/Shape: Can be anhedral or euhedral. Grains are commonly elongate with a tabular appearance. May contain lamellae which formed from exsolved albite.
Relief: Low negative relief
Cleavage/Fracture Habit: Has perfect cleavage parallel to {001} and good cleavage on {010}. Cleavages intersect at 90°41'. It can be difficult to see cleavage in thin section due to microcline's low relief.
Twinning: Typically displays albite twinning and pericline twinning. This combination leads to a grid pattern, hence microcline displays gridiron twinning. Can also display carlsbad twinning, simple twins, or lack twinning altogether. Lamellae in microcline are discontinuous and "pinch and swell."
Photomicrograph of thin section of microcline showing crosshatched crystal twinning (in cross polarised light)
Refractive Index: nα = 1.514 - 1.529 nβ = 1.518 - 1.533 nγ = 1.521 - 1.539
Birefringence: Up to first order white (roughly 0.007)
Extinction Habit/Angle: Inclined extinction to cleavage
Length Slow/Fast: N/A
Optic Sign: Biaxial negative
2Vx: 65-88°
Alteration: Commonly alters to sericite or clay.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Gridiron twinning distinguishes microcline from other feldspars. Distinguishable from plagioclase because the lamellae in plagioclase are continuous and do not "pinch and swell."

Microcline (KAlSi3O8) is an important igneous rock-forming tectosilicate mineral. It is a potassium-rich alkali feldspar. Microcline typically contains minor amounts of sodium. It is common in granite and pegmatites. Microcline forms during slow cooling of orthoclase; it is more stable at lower temperatures than orthoclase. Sanidine is a polymorph of alkali feldspar stable at yet higher temperature. Microcline may be clear, white, pale-yellow, brick-red, or green; it is generally characterized by cross-hatch twinning that forms as a result of the transformation of monoclinic orthoclase into triclinic microcline.

Microcline may be chemically the same as monoclinic orthoclase, but because it belongs to the triclinic crystal system, the prism angle is slightly less than right angles; hence the name "microcline" from the Greek "small slope." It is a fully ordered triclinic modification of potassium feldspar and is dimorphous with orthoclase. Microcline is identical to orthoclase in many physical properties; it can be distinguished by x-ray or optical examination; viewed under a polarizing microscope, microcline exhibits a minute multiple twinning which forms a grating-like structure that is unmistakable.

Feldspar (Amazonite)

Perthite is either microcline or orthoclase with thin lamellae of exsolved albite.

Amazon stone, or amazonite, is a beautiful green variety of microcline. It is not found anywhere in the Amazon basin, however. Spanish explorers who named it apparently confused it with another green mineral from that region.

The largest documented single crystals of microcline were found in Devils Hole Beryl Mine, Colorado, US and measured ~50x36x14 m. This could be one of the largest crystals of any material found so far.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ P. C. Rickwood (1981). "The largest crystals". American Mineralogist 66: 885–907. http://www.minsocam.org/ammin/AM66/AM66_885.pdf. 

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Microcline — Microcline[1] Catégorie IX : silicates[2] …   Wikipédia en Français

  • microcline — ● microcline nom masculin Feldspath triclinique potassique, que l on trouve dans les granites et les gneiss. microcline [mikʀoklin] n. f. ÉTYM. 1897; de micro , et du grec klinein « incliner ». ❖ ♦ Minér. Feldspath potassique ou sodique …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Microcline — Mi cro*cline, n. [Micro + Gr. ? to incline.] (Min.) A mineral of the feldspar group, like orthoclase or common feldspar in composition, but triclinic in form. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • microcline — [mī′krō klīn΄] n. [Ger mikroklin (< Gr mikros, small + klinein, to incline: see LEAN1): its cleavage angle differs slightly from 90°] a triclinic feldspar, KAlSi3O8, that is dimorphic with orthoclase; potassium aluminum silicate …   English World dictionary

  • microcline — /muy kreuh kluyn /, n. a mineral of the feldspar group, potassium aluminum silicate, KAlSi3O8, identical in composition with orthoclase but having triclinic instead of monoclinic crystals, used in making porcelain. [1840 50; MICRO + cline < Gk… …   Universalium

  • microcline — noun A common feldspar of igneous, plutonic, and metamorphic rocks, made of potassium aluminum silicate, with the chemical formula KAlSiO. Microcline is the main feldspar of granite. The bluish green variety is called amazonstone, and is… …   Wiktionary

  • microcline — (entrée créée par le supplément) (mi kro kli n ) adj. Terme de cristallographie. Qui a de petites inclinaisons. •   Sur le feldspath microcline, CH. STE CLAIRE DEVILLE Acad. des sc. Comptes rend. t. LXXXII, p. 1015. ÉTYMOLOGIE    Du grec, petit,… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • microcline — mikroklinas statusas T sritis chemija apibrėžtis Triklininis natrio putnagas. formulė (K,Na)[AlSi₃O₈] atitikmenys: angl. microcline rus. микроклин …   Chemijos terminų aiškinamasis žodynas

  • microcline — noun Etymology: German Mikroklin, from mikr micr + Greek klinein to lean more at lean Date: 1849 a triclinic mineral of the feldspar group that is like orthoclase in composition …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • microcline — [ mʌɪkrə(ʊ)klʌɪn] noun a green, pink or brown mineral consisting of potassium rich feldspar. Origin C19: from Ger. Microklin, from Gk mikros small + klinein to lean (because its angle of cleavage is close to 90 degrees) …   English new terms dictionary

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