The ternary diagram geology uses to show the relationships between similar minerals come up a lot in my silicates articles. Ternary diagrams can describe ANY relationship with three related components. It looks like a triangle with different chemical formulas of rocks at the corners. Understanding how to read the ternary diagrams is like reading a […]
How to Read a Ternary Diagram Geology the Easy Way Read More »
Olivine crystal structure is foundational for its own significant forms and processes in the Earth. The Earth is mostly made of elements silicon and oxygen, when mixed with smaller amounts of other elements silicate minerals form. The backbone of silicate minerals is the silicon-oxygen tetrahedra. Olivine has tetrahedra that are set loose from one another,
Olivine Crystal Structure: Earth’s Simple Starter Mineral Read More »
Here is a different types of silicate minerals list where you’ll learn what a silicate mineral is and why they are important. Here there are lists of categories, families, and classes of silicate minerals with their crystal structures. Overall what makes a mineral a silicate is the presence of silicon-oxygen tetrahedra as the building blocks.
Different Types of Silicate Minerals List: The Most Special Examples Read More »
Tetrahedron is a word that sounds very fancy and maybe you know the basic shape is a triangular pyramid. But what is a tetrahedron shape and is it just as fancy as the word? I found all the most interesting features of tetrahedra (which is the plural of tetrahedron), without too much cumbersome jargon so
What is a Tetrahedron shape? Everything You Need to Know Read More »
Here explains the three main classifications of rock where you can connect actual crystals you have seen before to the jargon-y nomenclature. Even if you consider yourself knowledgeable about crystals, you may have never heard of terms like “plagioclase” and “feldspar” – even though these are some of the most common constituents of rocks where
Types of Crystals Chart (Geology Terms You Need To Know) Read More »