Olivine Mineral Data

Advertisment

Our Mission is Simple: RMS will be the go-to portal for all mineral, gem and rock shows in the USA

McDougall Minerals sells high-quality mineral specimens from all over the world to collectors of all levels, from beginners to connoisseurs

John Betts - Fine Minerals, New York. Dealers of Fine Minerals and Natural Crystal Clusters since 1989. We buy rock collections, we buy gem collections, we buy mineral collections.

General Olivine Information

Chemical Formula:

(Mg,Fe)2SiO4

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 153.31 gm

Magnesium 25.37 % Mg 42.06 % MgO

Iron 14.57 % Fe 18.75 % FeO

Silicon 18.32 % Si 39.19 % SiO₂

Oxygen 41.74 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Mg_1.6Fe²⁺_0.4(SiO₄)

Environment:

Basic and ultra basic igneous rocks. Goup species name.

IMA Status:

Not Approved IMA

Locality:

Common world wide occurrence. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named after the green color.

Name Pronunciation:

Olivine

Synonym:

Calcio-olivine - calcium-dominant member of the olivine group

Chrysolite - light yellowish green

Peridot

Olivine Image

Images:

Olivine Forsterite

Comments: Peridot (Forsterite) recrystallized at the base.
Location: Skardu, Nooristan, Pakistan. Scale: 2.5 x 2.7 cm.
© Fabre Minerals

Olivine Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:b:c =0.4663:1:0.6146

Cell Dimensions:

a = 4.78, b = 10.25, c = 6.3, Z = 4; V = 308.67 Den(Calc)= 3.30

Crystal System:

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

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

Nord A G , Annersten H , Filippidis A , American Mineralogist , 67 (1982) p.1206-1211, The cation distribution in synthetic Mg-Fe-Ni olivines, sample H2

View Additional jPOWD Structure files for Olivine
[1] [10] [100] [101] [102] [103] [104] [105] [106] [107] [108] [109] [11] [110] [111] [112] [113] [114] [115] [116] [117] [118] [119] [12] [120] [121] [122] [123] [124] [125] [126] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [2] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [3] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [4] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [5] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] [56] [57] [58] [59] [6] [60] [61] [62] [63] [64] [65] [66] [67] [68] [69] [7] [70] [71] [72] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] [8] [80] [81] [82] [83] [84] [85] [86] [87] [88] [89] [9] [90] [91] [92] [93] [94] [95] [96] [97] [98] [99]

Physical Properties of Olivine

Cleavage:

{001} Good, {010} Distinct

Color:

Yellowish green, Olive green, Greenish black, Reddish brown.

Density:

3.27 - 3.37, Average = 3.32

Diaphaneity:

Transparent to translucent

Fracture:

Brittle - Conchoidal - Very brittle fracture producing small, conchoidal fragments.

Habit:

Massive - Granular - Common texture observed in granite and other igneous rock.

Hardness:

6.5-7 - Pyrite-Quartz

Luminescence:

Non-fluorescent.

Luster:

Vitreous (Glassy)

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Olivine

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= 0.01 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= 0.004 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.2,KPDmeas= 0.1988,KC= 0.2009
Ncalc = 1.66 - 1.68

Optical Data:

Biaxial (+), a=1.63-1.65, b=1.65-1.67, g=1.67-1.69, bire=0.0400, 2V(Calc)=88, 2V(Meas)=46-98. Dispersion relatively weak.

Calculated Properties of Olivine

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=3.25 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Olivine =3.30 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.03
Boson Index = 0.97

Photoelectric:

PE_Olivine= 5.56 barns/electron
U=PE_Olivine x rElectron Density= 18.11 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Olivine is Not Radioactive

Olivine Classification

Dana Class:

51.03.01.00 (51)Nesosilicate Insular SiO4 Groups Only

(51.03)with all cations in octahedral [6] coordination

(51.03.01)Olivine group

51.03.01.00 Olivine* (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

51.03.01.01 Fayalite Fe2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

51.03.01.02 Forsterite Mg2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

51.03.01.03 Liebenbergite (Ni,Mg)2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

51.03.01.04 Tephroite Mn2SiO4 P nma 2/m 2/m 2/m

51.03.01.05 Laihunite FeFe2(SiO4)2 P 2₁/b 2/m

Strunz Class:

09.AC.05 09 - SILICATES (Germanates)

09.A - Nesosilicates

09.AC -Nesosilicates without additional anions;

09.AC.05 Forsterite Mg2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

09.AC.05 Glaucochroite CaMnSiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

09.AC.05 Fayalite Fe2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

09.AC.05 Olivine* (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

09.AC.05 Kirschsteinite CaFeSiO4 Pbmn 2/m 2/m 2/m

09.AC.05 Laihunite FeFe2(SiO4)2 P 2₁/b 2/m

09.AC.05 Liebenbergite (Ni,Mg)2SiO4 Pbnm 2/m 2/m 2/m

09.AC.05 Tephroite Mn2SiO4 P nma 2/m 2/m 2/m

Other Olivine Information

References:

NAME( Duda&Rejl90) PHYS. PROP.(Dana) OPTIC PROP.(Dana)

Search for Olivine using:

[AOL] [Bing] [Dog Pile] [GeoScienceWorld] [HotBot] [Ixquick] [Lycos] [MAMMA] [Scirus] [Teoma] [WebCrawler] [Wikipedia] [YAHOO]

Visit our Advertisers for Olivine :

Dakota Matrix Minerals Google Search for Olivine
John Betts Fine Minerals Search for Olivine
McDougall Minerals Google Search for Olivine
Rock and Mineral Shows Google Search for Olivine
Weinrich Minerals, Inc. Google Search for Olivine

Ask about Olivine 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 Olivine Specimen Label here :

Olivine

(Mg,Fe)2SiO4
Dana No: 51.03.01.00 Strunz No: 09.AC.05
Locality:

Notes: