| FELDSPAR | ||
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Feldspar is the name of a group of rock-forming minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth’s crust. Feldspars crystallize from magma in both intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks, and they can also occur as compact minerals, as veins, and are also present in many types of metamorphic rock.Rock formed entirely of plagioclase feldspar (see below) is known as anorthosite.Feldspars are also found in many types of sedimentary rock. This group of minerals consists of framework or tectosilicates. Compositions of major elements in common feldspars can be expressed in terms of three endmembers: K-feldspar endmember KAlSi3O8 Solid solutions between K-feldspar and albite are called alkali feldspar. Solid solutions between albite and anorthite are called plagioclase , or more properly plagioclase feldspar. Only limited solid solution occurs between K-feldspar and anorthite, and in the two other solid solutions, immiscibility occurs at temperatures common in the crust of the earth. Albite is considered both a plagioclase and alkali feldspar. In addition to albite, barium feldspars are also considered both alkali and plagioclase feldspars. Barium feldspars form as potassium is replaced by barium. The alkali feldspars are as follows: * orthoclase (monoclinic) – KAlSi3O8 Sanidine is stable at the highest temperatures, and microcline at the lowest. Perthite is a typical texture in alkali feldspar, due to exsolution of contrasting alkali feldspar compositions during cooling of an intermediate composition. The perthitic textures in the alkali feldspars of many granites can be seen with the naked eye. Microperthitic textures in crystals are visible using a light microscope, whereas cryptoperthitic textures can only be seen using an electron microscope. The plagioclase feldspars are triclinic. The plagioclase series follows (with percent anorthite in parentheses): * albite (0 to 10) – NaAlSi3O8 Intermediate compositions of plagioclase feldspar also may exsolve to two feldspars of contrasting composition during cooling, but diffusion is much slower than in alkali feldspar, and the resulting two-feldspar intergrowths typically are too fine-grained to be visible with optical microscopes. The immiscibility gaps in the plagioclase solid solution are complex compared to the gap in the alkali feldspars. The play of colors visible in some feldspar of labradorite composition is due to very fine-grained exsolution lamellae. The barium feldspars are monoclinic and comprise the following: * celsian – BaAlSi3O8 |
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