Pollucite

Pollucite

Pollucite is a zeolite mineral with the formula (Cs,Na)2Al2Si4O12·2H2O with iron, calcium, rubidium and potassium as common substituting elements. It is important as a significant ore of caesium and sometimes rubidium. It forms a solid solution series with analcime. It crystallizes in the isometric - hexoctahedral crystal system as colorless, white, gray, or rarely pink and blue masses. Well formed crystals are rare. It has a Mohs hardness of 6.5 and a specific gravity of 2.9. It has a brittle fracture and no cleavage.

Its typical occurrence is in lithium-rich granite pegmatites in association with quartz, spodumene, petalite, amblygonite, lepidolite, elbaite, cassiterite, columbite, apatite, eucryptite, muscovite, albite and microcline.

It was first described in 1846 for occurrences on Elba Island, Italy, it is named for Pollux (mythology), the twin of Castor on the grounds that it is often found associated with petalite (previously known as "castorite").

Francium occurs in trace quantities in certain pollucite ores, and some of the initial and much-disputed discoveries involved the spectral analysis of pollucite, showing unexplained lines that could only be explained by the existence of a new element.

References

* [http://webmineral.com/data/Pollucite.shtml Webmineral data]
* [http://www.mindat.org/min-3255.html Mindat with location data]
* [http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/pollucite.pdf Mineral Data Publishing - PDF]
*Fontani, Marco (2005-09-10). "The Twilight of the Naturally-Occurring Elements: Moldavium (Ml), Sequanium (Sq) and Dor (Do)". International Conference on the History of Chemistry: 1–8. Retrieved on 2007-04-08.


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  • Pollucite — Pol lu*cite, n. [See {Pollux}, and 4th {Castor}.] (Min.) A colorless transparent mineral, resembling quartz, occurring with castor or castorite on the island of Elba. It is a silicate of alumina and c[ae]sia. Called also {pollux}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pollucite — La pollucite est un minéral de type zéolite de formule chimique (Cs,Na)2Al2Si4O12·2H2O. Elle contient également fréquemment du fer, du calcium, du rubidium ou du potassium. Ce composé est important en tant que minerai de césium et parfois de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • pollucite — polucitas statusas T sritis chemija apibrėžtis Mineralas. formulė (Cs,Na)[AlSi₂O₆]·nH₂O atitikmenys: angl. pollucite rus. поллуцит …   Chemijos terminų aiškinamasis žodynas

  • pollucite — noun A colorless transparent mineral of the zeolite family consisting of hydrous cesium aluminum silicate and occurring massive or crystallizing in cubes …   Wiktionary

  • pollucite — pol·lu·cite …   English syllables

  • pollucite — noun a rare mineral that is an important source of cesium • Hypernyms: ↑mineral • Substance Meronyms: ↑cesium, ↑caesium, ↑Cs, ↑atomic number 55, ↑rubidium, ↑Rb, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • pollux — Pollucite Pol lu*cite, n. [See {Pollux}, and 4th {Castor}.] (Min.) A colorless transparent mineral, resembling quartz, occurring with castor or castorite on the island of Elba. It is a silicate of alumina and c[ae]sia. Called also {pollux}. [1913 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Caesium — xenon ← caesium → barium Rb ↑ Cs ↓ Fr …   Wikipedia

  • Rubidium — krypton ← rubidium → strontium K ↑ Rb ↓ …   Wikipedia

  • Alkali metal — Group → 1 ↓ Period 2 3 Li 3 …   Wikipedia

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