Feldspar

This article is about a mineral. For the Malcolm in the Middle character see list of characters.

feldspar Potassium feldspar crystals in a granite, eastern Sierra Nevada, Rock Creek Canyon, California, USA. Scale bar is 2.00 cm (0.79 in). General Category tectosilicate Chemical formula KAlSi3O8 - NaAlSi3O8 - CaAl2Si2O8 Identification Color pink, white, gray, brown Crystal system triclinic or monoclinic Twinning tartan, carlsbad, etc Cleavage two or three Fracture along cleavage planes Mohs scale hardness 6 Luster vitreous Diaphaneity opaque Birefringence first order Pleochroism none Other characteristics exsolution lamellae common Lunar Ferroan Anorthosite #60025 (Plagioclase Feldspar). Collected by Apollo 16 from the Lunar Highlands near Descartes Crater. This sample is currently on display at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., USA. (Unknown scale.) Compositional phase diagram of the different minerals that constitute the feldspar solid solution. Feldspar. Alkali feldspar perthite (7cm long X 3cm width). Labradorite. Feldspar output in 2005. Click the image for the details.

Feldspars (KAlSi₃O₈ - NaAlSi₃O₈ - CaAl₂Si₂O₈) are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust.^[1]

Feldspars crystallize from magma in both intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks, as veins, and are also present in many types of metamorphic rock.^[2] Rock formed almost entirely of calcic plagioclase feldspar (see below) is known as anorthosite.^[3] Feldspars are also found in many types of sedimentary rock.^[4]

Etymology

Feldspar is derived from the German Feld, "field", and Spath, "a rock that does not contain ore". "Feldspathic" refers to materials that contain feldspar. The alternative spelling, felspar, has now largely fallen out of use.^[5]

Compositions

This group of minerals consists of framework or tectosilicates. Compositions of major elements in common feldspars can be expressed in terms of three endmembers:

Potassium-Feldspar (K-spar) endmember KAlSi₃O₈^[1]

Albite endmember NaAlSi₃O₈^[1]

Anorthite endmember CaAl₂Si₂O₈^[1]

Solid solutions between K-feldspar and albite are called alkali feldspar.^[1] Solid solutions between albite and anorthite are called plagioclase,^[1] or more properly plagioclase feldspar. Only limited solid solution occurs between K-feldspar and anorthite, and in the two other solid solutions, immiscibility occurs at temperatures common in the crust of the earth. Albite is considered both a plagioclase and alkali feldspar. In addition to albite, barium feldspars are also considered both alkali and plagioclase feldspars. Barium feldspars form as the result of the replacement of potassium feldspar.

Alkali feldspars

The alkali feldspars are as follows:

• orthoclase (monoclinic),^[6] — KAlSi₃O₈
• sanidine (monoclinic)^[7] —(K,Na)AlSi₃O₈
• microcline (triclinic)^[8] — KAlSi₃O₈
• anorthoclase (triclinic) — (Na,K)AlSi₃O₈

Sanidine is stable at the highest temperatures, and microcline at the lowest.^[6][7] Perthite is a typical texture in alkali feldspar, due to exsolution of contrasting alkali feldspar compositions during cooling of an intermediate composition. The perthitic textures in the alkali feldspars of many granites can be seen with the naked eye.^[9] Microperthitic textures in crystals are visible using a light microscope, whereas cryptoperthitic textures can be seen only with an electron microscope.

Plagioclase feldspars

The plagioclase feldspars are triclinic. The plagioclase series follows (with percent anorthite in parentheses):

• albite (0 to 10) — NaAlSi₃O₈
• oligoclase (10 to 30) — (Na,Ca)(Al,Si)AlSi₂O₈
• andesine (30 to 50) — NaAlSi₃O₈ — CaAl₂Si₂O₈
• labradorite (50 to 70) — (Ca,Na)Al(Al,Si)Si₂O₈
• bytownite (70 to 90) — (NaSi,CaAl)AlSi₂O₈
• anorthite (90 to 100) — CaAl₂Si₂O₈

Intermediate compositions of plagioclase feldspar also may exsolve to two feldspars of contrasting composition during cooling, but diffusion is much slower than in alkali feldspar, and the resulting two-feldspar intergrowths typically are too fine-grained to be visible with optical microscopes. The immiscibility gaps in the plagioclase solid solution are complex compared to the gap in the alkali feldspars. The play of colours visible in some feldspar of labradorite composition is due to very fine-grained exsolution lamellae.

Barium feldspars

The barium feldspars are monoclinic and comprise the following:

• celsian — BaAl₂Si₂O₈
• hyalophane — (K,Na,Ba)(Al,Si)₄O₈

Feldspars can form clay minerals through chemical weathering.^[10]

Uses

• Feldspar is a common raw material in the production of ceramics and geopolymers.
• Feldspars are used for thermoluminescence dating and optical dating in earth sciences and archaeology
• Feldspar is one of several abrasive ingredients in Bon Ami, a brand of household cleaner in the USA.

In 2005, Italy was the top producer of feldspar with almost one fifth of world share, followed by Turkey, China and Thailand—reports the International Monetary Fund.

See also

• List of minerals

References

• Bonewitz, Ronald Louis. (2005). Rock and Gem, New York: DK Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7566-3342-4