Ferrosilite Mineral Data
General Ferrosilite Information
Chemical Formula:
(Fe++,Mg)2Si2O6
Composition:
Molecular Weight = 232.32 gm
Magnesium 10.46 % Mg 17.35 % MgO
Iron 24.04 % Fe 30.93 % FeO
Silicon 24.18 % Si 51.73 % SiO2
Oxygen 41.32 % O
______ ______
100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE
Empirical Formula:
Fe2+ MgSi2 O6
Environment:
Found in basic and ultrabasic igneous rocks.
IMA Status:
Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1935
Locality:
Unspecified locality in Russia. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.
Name Origin:
Named for its composition (Ferrous Silicate).
Name Pronunciation:
Ferrosilite + Pronunciation
Synonym:
ICSD 17055
Orthoferrosilite
PDF 29-721
Ferrosilite Image
Images:
Ferrosilite Crystallography
Axial Ratios:
a:b:c =2.0288:1:0.5768
Cell Dimensions:
a = 18.418, b = 9.078, c = 5.237, Z = 8; V = 875.62 Den(Calc)= 3.52
Crystal System:
Orthorhombic - Dipyramidal H-M Symbol (2/m 2/m 2/m) Space Group: P bca
X Ray Diffraction:
By Intensity(I/Io ): 2.91(1), 4.61(0.9), 3(0.8), 3.23(0.7), 2.59(0.4), 2.52(0.3), 6.46(0.3), 1.781(0.2),
Physical Properties of Ferrosilite
Cleavage:
{210} Good, {100} Parting
Color:
Colorless, Green, Dark brown, Nearly black.
Density:
3.88 - 4.02, Average = 3.95
Diaphaneity:
Translucent to Opaque
Habit:
Anhedral Grains - Granular minerals without the expression of crystal shapes
Hardness:
5-6 - Between Apatite and Orthoclase
Luster:
Vitreous (Glassy)
Streak:
pale brownish gray
Optical Properties of Ferrosilite
Gladstone-Dale:
CI meas = 0.056 (Good) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas /KC ) CI calc = -0.059 (Fair) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc /KC )
KPDcalc = 0.2123,KPDmeas = 0.1892,KC = 0.2004 Ncalc = 1.71 - 1.81
Optical Data:
Biaxial (+), a=1.71-1.767, b=1.723-1.77, g=1.726-1.788, bire=0.0160-0.0210
Pleochroism (x):
pinkish brown.
Pleochroism (z):
greenish brown.
Calculated Properties of Ferrosilite
Electron Density:
Bulk Density (Electron Density)=3.88 gm/cc note: Specific Gravity of Ferrosilite =3.95 gm/cc.
Fermion Index:
Fermion Index = 0.02 Boson Index = 0.98
Photoelectric:
PEFerrosilite = 8.29 barns/electronU=PEFerrosilite x r Electron Density= 32.13 barns/cc.
Radioactivity:
GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units) Ferrosilite is Not Radioactive
Ferrosilite Classification
Dana Class:
65.01.02.02 (65) Inosilicate Single-Width Unbranched Chains, W=1
(65.01) with chains P=2
(65.01.02) Orthopyroxenes
65.01.02.01 Enstatite Mg2Si2O6 P bca 2/m 2/m 2/m
65.01.02.02 Ferrosilite (Fe,Mg)2Si2O6 P bca 2/m 2/m 2/m
65.01.02.03 Donpeacorite (Mn,Mg)MgSi2O6 P bca 2/m 2/m 2/m
Strunz Class:
09.DA.05 09 - SILICATES (Germanates)
09.D - Inosilicates* Structural terminology according to Liebau (1985)
09.DA -Inosilicates with 2-periodic single chains, Si2O6; pyroxene family
09.DA.05 Donpeacorite (Mn,Mg)MgSi2O6 P bca 2/m 2/m 2/m
09.DA.05 Akimotoite ! (Mg,Fe)SiO3 R 3 3
09.DA.05 Enstatite Mg2Si2O6 P bca 2/m 2/m 2/m
09.DA.05 Ferrosilite (Fe,Mg)2Si2O6 P bca 2/m 2/m 2/m
Other Ferrosilite Information
References:
NAME( Dana8) PHYS. PROP.(Dana8) OPTIC PROP.(Dana8)
See Also:
Links to other databases for Ferrosilite :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Athena
3 - EUROmin Project
4 - Ecole des Mines de Paris
5 - GeoScienceWorld
6 - Google Images
7 - Google Scholar
8 - Handbook of Mineralogy (MinSocAm)
9 - Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA)
10 - MinDAT
11 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
12 - Online Mineral Museum
13 - QUT Mineral Atlas
14 - Ruff.Info
15 - University of Colorado - Mineral Structure Data
16 - WWW-MINCRYST
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Ferrosilite
(Fe++,Mg)2Si2O6
Dana No: 65.01.02.02 Strunz No: 09.DA.05
Locality:
Notes:
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