Mineral - Green Gyrolite, Calcite, and White Quartz in basalt vesicle - Zeolite
SKU:
ITEM# MINERAL-Gyrolite-0001
$750.00
$600.00
$600.00
Malad Quarry, Bombay, India
ITEM# MINERAL-Gyrolite-0001
Amazing and very large zeolite consisting of a basalt vesicle with large green gryolite clusters and calcite in a white quartz crystal matrix from Bombay, India.
Gryolite, a hydrated calcium silicate, has long been of interest to mineralogists and chemists,
particularly those concerned with the chemistry of cements, who have attempted to clarify its crystal chemistry and its relationships with reyerite and truscottite. Gyrolite clusters can be brown, colorless, white, or green.
Calcite crystals are trigonal-rhombohedral, though actual calcite rhombohedra are rare as natural crystals. However, they show a remarkable variety of habits including acute to obtuse rhombohedra, tabular forms, prisms, or various scalenohedra. Calcite exhibits several twinning types adding to the variety of observed forms. It may occur as fibrous, granular, lamellar, or compact. Cleavage is usually in three directions parallel to the rhombohedron form. Its fracture is conchoidal, but difficult to obtain. Color is white or none, though shades of gray, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, or even black can occur when the mineral is charged with impurities.
Calcite is transparent to opaque and may occasionally show phosphorescence of fluorescence. A transparent variety called Iceland Spar is used for optical purposes. Acute scalenohedral crystals are sometimes referred to as "dogtooth spar" while the rhombohedral form is sometimes referred to as "nailhead spar".
Single calcite crystals display an optical property called birefringence (double refraction). This strong birefringence causes objects viewed through a clear piece of calcite to appear doubled.
Calcite, like most carbonates, will dissolve with most forms of acid. Calcite can be either dissolved by groundwater or precipitated by groundwater, depending on several factors including the water temperature, pH, and dissolved ion concentrations. Although calcite is fairly insoluble in cold water, acidity can cause dissolution of calcite and release of carbon dioxide gas. Calcite exhibits an unusual characteristic called retrograde solubility in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases.
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula Si02. There are many different varieties of quartz, several of which are semi-precious gemstones. Throughout the world, varieties of quartz have been since antiquity the most commonly used minerals in the making of jewelry and stone carvings.
This magnificent zeolite specimen measures approximately 9 1/2 inches long by 5 inches wide by 5 1/2 inches high.
ITEM# MINERAL-Gyrolite-0001
Amazing and very large zeolite consisting of a basalt vesicle with large green gryolite clusters and calcite in a white quartz crystal matrix from Bombay, India.
Gryolite, a hydrated calcium silicate, has long been of interest to mineralogists and chemists,
particularly those concerned with the chemistry of cements, who have attempted to clarify its crystal chemistry and its relationships with reyerite and truscottite. Gyrolite clusters can be brown, colorless, white, or green.
Calcite crystals are trigonal-rhombohedral, though actual calcite rhombohedra are rare as natural crystals. However, they show a remarkable variety of habits including acute to obtuse rhombohedra, tabular forms, prisms, or various scalenohedra. Calcite exhibits several twinning types adding to the variety of observed forms. It may occur as fibrous, granular, lamellar, or compact. Cleavage is usually in three directions parallel to the rhombohedron form. Its fracture is conchoidal, but difficult to obtain. Color is white or none, though shades of gray, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, or even black can occur when the mineral is charged with impurities.
Calcite is transparent to opaque and may occasionally show phosphorescence of fluorescence. A transparent variety called Iceland Spar is used for optical purposes. Acute scalenohedral crystals are sometimes referred to as "dogtooth spar" while the rhombohedral form is sometimes referred to as "nailhead spar".
Single calcite crystals display an optical property called birefringence (double refraction). This strong birefringence causes objects viewed through a clear piece of calcite to appear doubled.
Calcite, like most carbonates, will dissolve with most forms of acid. Calcite can be either dissolved by groundwater or precipitated by groundwater, depending on several factors including the water temperature, pH, and dissolved ion concentrations. Although calcite is fairly insoluble in cold water, acidity can cause dissolution of calcite and release of carbon dioxide gas. Calcite exhibits an unusual characteristic called retrograde solubility in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases.
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula Si02. There are many different varieties of quartz, several of which are semi-precious gemstones. Throughout the world, varieties of quartz have been since antiquity the most commonly used minerals in the making of jewelry and stone carvings.
This magnificent zeolite specimen measures approximately 9 1/2 inches long by 5 inches wide by 5 1/2 inches high.