Scolecite Mineral Data

Scolecite Mineral Data +

Mineral of the Month Club - An Inexpensive Way to Enjoy Minerals

General Scolecite Information

Chemical Formula:

CaAl2Si3O10·3(H2O)

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 392.34 gm

Calcium 10.22 % Ca 14.29 % CaO

Aluminum 13.75 % Al 25.99 % Al₂O₃

Silicon 21.48 % Si 45.94 % SiO₂

Hydrogen 1.54 % H 13.78 % H₂O

Oxygen 53.01 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

CaAl₂Si₃O₁₀·3(H₂O)

Environment:

Low temperature alteration of basalts and related rocks.

IMA Status:

Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1813

Locality:

Kaiserstuhl in Baden. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

From the Greek, skolec = 'worm' in reference to the mineral's reaction to the blowpipe flame.

Synonym:

ICSD 30967

PDF 41-1355

Scolecite Image

Images:

Scolecite

Comments: Delicate cluster spray of colorless transparent acicular crystals of scolecite. The scolecites measure to 3 mm in thickness.
Location: Nasik district, Maharashtra, India. Scale: 5 x 3.5 x 9.5 cm.
© Dan Weinrich

Scolecite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:b:c =0.3438:1:0.5151

Cell Dimensions:

a = 6.516, b = 18.948, c = 9.761, Z = 4; beta = 108.98° V = 1,139.62 Den(Calc)= 2.29

Crystal System:

Monoclinic - DomaticH-M Symbol (m) Space Group: Cc

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

By Intensity(I/I_o): 2.882(1), 5.85(1), 6.59(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

Comodi P , Gatta G D , Zanazzi P F , European Journal of Mineralogy , 14 (2002) p.567-574, High-pressure structural behaviour of scolecite, Sample: P = .0001 GPa

View Additional jPOWD Structure files for Scolecite
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Physical Properties of Scolecite

Cleavage:

[110] Perfect

Color:

Brownish, Colorless, White.

Density:

2.16 - 2.4, Average = 2.28

Diaphaniety:

Transparent to subtranslucent

Fracture:

Brittle - Uneven - Very brittle fracture producing uneven fragments.

Habit:

Massive - Fibrous - Distinctly fibrous fine-grained forms.

Habit:

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

Hardness:

5-5.5 - Apatite-Knife Blade

Luminescence:

Non-fluorescent.

Luster:

Vitreous - Silky

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Scolecite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= 0 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= 0.005 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.2252,KPDmeas= 0.2262,KC= 0.2262

Optical Data:

Biaxial (-), a=1.507-1.513, b=1.516-1.52, g=1.517-1.521, bire=0.0080-0.0100, 2V(Calc)=36-40, 2V(Meas)=36-56. Dispersion relatively strong.

Pleochroism (x):

colorless.

Pleochroism (y):

colorless.

Pleochroism (z):

colorless.

Calculated Properties of Scolecite

Electron Density:

r_electron=2.30 gm/cc
note: r_Scolecite=2.28 gm/cc.

Fermion Index

Fermion Index = 0.01042
Boson Index = 0.98958

Photoelectric:

PE_Scolecite= 2.50 barns/electron
U=PE_Scolecite x r_electron= 5.75 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)

Scolecite is Not Radioactive

Scolecite Classification

Dana Class:

77.1.5.5 (77)Tectosilicate Zeolite group

(77.1)true zeolites

(77.1.5)Natrolite and related species

77.1.5.1 Natrolite Na2[Al2Si3O10]·2(H2O) F dd2 mm2

77.1.5.2 Tetranatrolite? Na2[Al2Si3O10]·2(H2O) I 42d 4 2m

77.1.5.3 Paranatrolite Na2[Al2Si3O10]·3(H2O) Cc m

77.1.5.4 Mesolite Na2Ca2Al6Si9O30·8(H2O) C 2 2

77.1.5.5 Scolecite CaAl2Si3O10·3(H2O) Cc m

77.1.5.6 Edingtonite BaAl2Si3O10·4(H2O) P 2₁2₁2 2 2 2

77.1.5.7 Gonnardite Na2CaAl4Si6O20·7(H2O) I 42d 4 2m

77.1.5.8 Cowlesite CaAl2Si3O10·5-6(H2O) P 222₁, P mmm, Pmm2 Ortho

77.1.5.9 Thomsonite-Ca NaCa2Al5Si5O20·6(H2O) Pncn 2/m 2/m 2/m

77.1.5.10 Thomsonite-Sr! (Sr,Ca)2Na[Al5Si5O20]·7(H2O) Pcnn 2/m 2/m 2/m

77.1.5.11 Nabesite! Na2BeSi4O10·4(H2O) P 2₁2₁2₁ 2 2 2

Strunz Class:

VIII/J.21-60 VIII - Silicates

VIII/J - Tectosilicates (network), with zeolite-structure, Bladed Zeolites

VIII/J.21 - Zeolite group, Natrolite - Thomsonite series

VIII/J.21-10 Natrolite Na2[Al2Si3O10]·2(H2O) F dd2 mm2

VIII/J.21-20 Paranatrolite Na2[Al2Si3O10]·3(H2O) Cc m

VIII/J.21-30 Tetranatrolite? Na2[Al2Si3O10]·2(H2O) I 42d 4 2m

VIII/J.21-40 Gonnardite Na2CaAl4Si6O20·7(H2O) I 42d 4 2m

VIII/J.21-50 Mesolite Na2Ca2Al6Si9O30·8(H2O) C 2 2

VIII/J.21-60 Scolecite CaAl2Si3O10·3(H2O) Cc m

VIII/J.21-70 Thomsonite-Ca NaCa2Al5Si5O20·6(H2O) Pncn 2/m 2/m 2/m

VIII/J.21-80 Thomsonite-Sr! (Sr,Ca)2Na[Al5Si5O20]·7(H2O) Pcnn 2/m 2/m 2/m

Other Scolecite Information

References:

NAME( Ford32) PHYS. PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990) OPTIC PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990)

See Also:

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

Search for Scolecite using:

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

Visit our Advertisers for Scolecite :

AA Mineral Specimens

B & L Fine Minerals

Dan Weinrich Fine Minerals

Dan Weinrich Auctions

John Betts Fine Minerals

Mason's Minerals

Mineral News

Mineral of the Month Club

MineralsWeb Fine Minerals

The GeoZone

Wrights Rock Shop

Translate Scolecite Mineral Data :

Ask about Scolecite 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 Scolecite Specimen Label here :

Scolecite

CaAl2Si3O10·3(H2O)
Dana No: 77.1.5.5 Strunz No: VIII/J.21-60
Locality:

Notes: