|
Mineral Characteristic |
What the
mineralogists say |
Kid's Guide: What it REALLY
means! |
| Chemical Symbol |
KLi2Al(Al, Si)3O10(F,
OH)2 |
It has potassium, lithium, silicon, oxygen, hydrogen,
fluorine and aluminum in it. |
| Color |
Pale pink to violet |
These are the usual colors for the mineral. |
| Streak |
white |
If you crush this mineral, it turns into a white dust. |
| Transparency |
Transparent to translucent |
Sometimes you can see through it or light can clearly go
through it. Other times it would be blurry to look
through. |
| Luster |
Vitreous |
If
you shine a light on it, it would look glassy. |
| Cleavage |
Perfect in one direction |
Like all micas, when you break this, it splits into thin sheets or
layers. Some pieces will glow when you hit them. |
| Fracture |
Uneven but not seen often |
Fracture is the tiny pieces that happen when you break the mineral.
Since this mineral breaks evenly into layers, small pieces don’t happen
very often. It is flexible and is more likely to bend. |
| Magnetism |
None |
It will
not attract, or be attracted to, a magnet. |
| Hardness |
2.5 |
This mineral isn’t very hard. It can be scratched by a fingernail. It
is flexible, too. |
| Specific gravity |
2.8 |
It is an average weight. |
| Crystal Shape |
Monoclinic |
 |
