Merlinoite Mineral Data

[Mineral Forums] [Minerals for Sale] [About Us] [En Espanol] [Mineral Gallery]
Fabre Minerals - Europe's first Internet mineral dealer, on the web since 1996

General Merlinoite Information

Chemical Formula:

(K,Ca,Na,Ba)7Si23Al9O64•23(H2O)

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 2,625.60 gm

Potassium 6.25 % K 7.53 % K₂O

Barium 2.09 % Ba 2.34 % BaO

Sodium 0.53 % Na 0.71 % Na₂O

Calcium 2.29 % Ca 3.20 % CaO

Aluminum 9.56 % Al 18.06 % Al₂O₃

Iron 0.43 % Fe 0.55 % FeO

Silicon 24.28 % Si 51.95 % SiO₂

Hydrogen 1.74 % H 15.58 % H₂O

Oxygen 52.83 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 99.91 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

K_4.2Ca_1.5Na_0.6Ba_0.4Fe²⁺_0.2Si_22.7Al_9.3O₆₄·22.7(H₂O)

Environment:

A secondary mineral in veins and cavities of silica-undersaturated volcanic rocks and manganese nodules in the Indian Ocean.

IMA Status:

Approved IMA 1977

Locality:

In the Cupaello quarry, near Santa Rufina, and at Valle Beachella, Sacrofano, near Rome, Lazio,, Italy. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named for Stefano Merlino (1938-), Professor of Crystallography, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.

Name Pronunciation:

Merlinoite + Pronunciation

Synonym:

ICSD 86741

PDF 29-989

Merlinoite Image

Images:

Merlinoite

Comments: Colorless transparent prismatic merlinoite microcrystals in vug.
Location: Lagno Ahendo Lare, Vesuvius, Naples, Campania, Italy. Scale: See Photo.
© Jeff Weissman / Photographic Guide to Mineral Species

Merlinoite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:b:c =0.992:1:0.6989

Cell Dimensions:

a = 14.116, b = 14.229, c = 9.946, Z = 1; V = 1,997.72 Den(Calc)= 2.18

Crystal System:

Orthorhombic - DipyramidalH-M Symbol (2/m 2/m 2/m) Space Group: I mmm

$Help on X Ray Diffraction:$ X Ray Diffraction:

By Intensity(I/I_o): 3.18(1), 7.08(0.9), 7.12(0.9),

Crystal Structure:

Mouse
drag1 - LMB Manipulate Structure
drag2 - RMB Resize/Rotate
Keyboard
S - Stereo Pair on/off
H - Help Screen
I - Data Info
A - Atoms On/Off
P - Polyhedra On/Off
B - Bonds On/Off
Help on Above

Galli E , Gottardi G , Pongiluppi D , Neues Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie, Monatshefte , 1979 (1979) p.1-9, The crystal structure of the zeolite merlinoite, Locality: in a vug of a lava from Cupaello, Rieti, Italy

Physical Properties of Merlinoite

Cleavage:

{???} Good

Color:

Colorless, White.

Density:

2.14 - 2.27, Average = 2.2

Diaphaneity:

Transparent to Translucent

Habit:

Fibrous - Crystals made up of fibers.

Habit:

Radial - Crystals radiate from a center without producing stellar forms (e.g. stibnite)

Habit:

Spherical - Spherical, rounded aggregates.

Hardness:

4.5 - Between Fluorite and Apatite

Luster:

Vitreous (Glassy)

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Merlinoite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= -0.007 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= -0.018 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.2294,KPDmeas= 0.2268,KC= 0.2252
Ncalc = 1.48 - 1.51

Optical Data:

Biaxial (-), a=1.499, b=1.5, g=1.501, bire=0.0020, 2V(Calc)=88, 2V(Meas)=56. Dispersion r > v.

Calculated Properties of Merlinoite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=2.22 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Merlinoite =2.21 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.01
Boson Index = 0.99

Photoelectric:

PE_Merlinoite= 10.61 barns/electron
U=PE_Merlinoite x r_electron= 23.55 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 90.85 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Concentration of Merlinoite per GRapi unit = 1.10 (%)

Estimated Radioactivity from Merlinoite - barely detectable

Merlinoite Classification

Dana Class:

77.01.03.11 (77)Tectosilicate Zeolite group

(77.01)true zeolites

(77.01.03)Gismondine and related species

77.01.03.01 Gismondine Ca2Al4Si4O16•9(H2O) P 2₁/c 2/m

77.01.03.02 Amicite K2Na2Al4Si4O16•5(H2O) I2 2

77.01.03.03 Garronite Na2Ca5Al12Si20O64•27(H2O) I 4₁/a 4/m

77.01.03.04 Gobbinsite (Na2,Ca)2K2Al6Si10O32•12(H2O) P mn2₁ mm2

77.01.03.05 Harmotome (Ba,Na,K)1-2(Si,Al)8O16•6(H2O) P 2₁/m 2/m

77.01.03.06 Phillipsite-Na (Na,K,Ca)1-2(Si,Al)8O16•6(H2O) P 2₁/m 2/m

77.01.03.06a Phillipsite-Ca! (Ca,K,Na)1-2(Si,Al)8O16•6(H2O) P 2₁/m 2/m

77.01.03.06b Phillipsite-K! (K,Na,Ca)1-2(Si,Al)8O16•6(H2O) P 2₁/m 2/m

77.01.03.08 Perlialite K8Tl4Al12Si24O72•20(H2O) P 6/mmm 6/m 2/m 2/m

77.01.03.09 Paulingite-K (K2,Ca,Na2,Ba)5Al10Si35O90•45(H2O) Im3m 4/m 3 2/m

77.01.03.09a Paulingite-Na! (Na2,K2,Ca,Ba)5Al10Si35O90•45(H2O) Im3m 4/m 3 2/m

77.01.03.09b Paulingite-Ca! (Ca,K,Na,Ba)5[Al10Si35O84]•34(H2O) Im3m 4/m 3 2/m

77.01.03.10 Mazzite-Mg K2CaMg2(Al,Si)36O72•28(H2O) P 6₃/mmc 6/m 2/m 2/m

77.01.03.10a Mazzite-Na! Na8Al8Si28O72•30H2O P 6₃/mmc 6/m 2/m 2/m

77.01.03.11 Merlinoite (K,Ca,Na,Ba)7Si23Al9O64•23(H2O) I mmm 2/m 2/m 2/m

77.01.03.12 Montesommaite (K,Na)9Al9Si23O64•10(H2O) F dd2 mm2

Strunz Class:

09.GC.15 09 - SILICATES (Germanates)

09.G - Tektosilicates with Zeolitic H2O

09.GC -Chains of doubly-connected 4-membered rings

09.GC.15 Merlinoite (K,Ca,Na,Ba)7Si23Al9O64•23(H2O) I mmm 2/m 2/m 2/m

Other Merlinoite Information

References:

NAME( AntBidBlaNic2) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(AntBidBlaNic2)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Merlinoite :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Athena
3 - EUROmin Project
4 - Ecole des Mines de Paris
5 - Google Images
6 - Google Scholar
7 - Handbook of Mineralogy (MinSocAm)
8 - Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA)
9 - MinDAT
10 - MinMax(Deutsch)
11 - MinMax(English)
12 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
13 - QUT Mineral Atlas
14 - Ruff.Info
15 - WWW-MINCRYST

Search for Merlinoite using:

[ALTAVISTA] [AOL] [All-The-Web] [HotBot] [Ixquick] [MAMMA] [MSN.COM] [Netscape] [Scirus] [Teoma] [Wikipedia] [YAHOO]

Visit our Advertisers for Merlinoite :

AA Mineral Specimens

B & L Fine Minerals

Crystalarium.com

Dan Weinrich Fine Minerals

Dan Weinrich Auctions

Dakota Matrix

Desert Winds Gems and Minerals

John Betts Fine Minerals

Mason's Minerals

Mineral News

Mineral of the Month Club

Wrights Rock Shop

Translate Merlinoite Mineral Data :

Ask about Merlinoite here :
Ask-A-Mineralogist from the Mineralogical Society of America
Mindat.org's Discussion Groups
Original Rockhounds Discussion Group
Rockhounds Discussion Group on Yahoo Groups
Mineral Discussion Forum from Fabre Minerals - also available in Español

Print or Cut-and-Paste your Merlinoite Specimen Label here :

Merlinoite

(K,Ca,Na,Ba)7Si23Al9O64•23(H2O)
Dana No: 77.01.03.11 Strunz No: 09.GC.15
Locality:

Notes: