Mineral Species containing Rubidium (Rb)

Element Properties, Isotopic Compositions for Rubidium

**Rubidium (Rb) Element Properties**
Atomic Mass	85.4678
Atomic Number	37
Name Origins	Latin, rubidius = "deepest red."
Year Discovered	1861
Discovery Credits	W. Noddack, Ida Tacke, and O. Berg in Berlin, Germany.
Remarks	Very soft metal with silvery white luster when cut. Ignites in air and reacts violently with water. Finds little use outside research. Minerals with a high Rb content are use for age-dating by the Rb-Sr isotope method. Most minerals containing potassium (K) also contain Rb in trace amounts. Diagnostic tests: In solution, rubidium will give a flame test color of a nice red. This flame test will be contaminated with the colors of the other alkaline elements which are present in the sample (in particular the red color from calcium). You will probably need a diffraction spectroscope to view the red emission lines from rubidium.
References	Emsley, J., 1991; THE ELEMENTS : Sec. Ed., Clarendon Press, Oxford, 251 p.
See Also	WebElements, ChemiCool

**Naturally Occurring Isotopes**
Symbol	Isotope Mass	Isotope Nuclide Number	Isotope Number	Natural Abundance	Half-life	Half-life Units	Decay Mode	Decay Mode MeV	Decay Mode %
Rb	84.911794	85	37	72.1700%		Stable
Rb	86.909187	87	37	27.8300%	4.9 x 10¹⁰	Years	beta -	0.273	100.0%

Rubidium (Rb) Minerals sorted by Descending Weight Percent

Click here for List sorted by Mineral Name

**11 Minerals containing Rubidium (Rb) sorted by Descending Weight Percent**
% Rb	Mineral Name	Chemical Formula	MW
25.17 % Rb	Ramanite-(Rb) !	Rb[B5O6(OH)4]·2H2O	339.57
20.47 % Rb	Rubicline !	(Rb,K)AlSi3O8	313.11
19.31 % Rb	Voloshinite	Rb(LiAl1.5[ ]0.5)(Al0.5Si3.5)O10F2	442.66
1.27 % Rb	Pautovite !	CsFe2S3	336.73
1.20 % Rb	Pollucite #	(Cs,Na)2Al2Si4O12·(H2O)	285.03
0.95 % Rb	Londonite !	CsAl4Be4(B,Be)12O28	808.60
0.52 % Rb	Pezzottaite !	Cs(Be2Li)Al2Si6O18	658.80
0.18 % Rb	Eveslogite !	(Ca,K,Na,Sr,Ba)48[(Ti,Nb,Fe,Mn)12(OH)12Si48O144](F,OH,Cl)14	6,800.28
0.11 % Rb	Faizievite !	K2Na(Ca6Na)Ti4Li6Si24O66F2	2,384.24
0.08 % Rb	Poppiite !	Ca2(V+++,Fe+++,Mg)(V+++,Al)2(Si,Al)3(O,OH)14	2,120.49
0.06 % Rb	Telyushenkoite !	CsNa6[Be2(Si,Al)18O39F2]	1,433.11

( Bold - Valid Mineral Name)
(* - Mineral Name is Not IMA Approved)
(! - New Dana Classification Number Has Been Changed or Added)
(? - IMA Discredited Mineral Species Name)
(# - Grandfathered as valid)