Plombierite Mineral Data

General Plombierite Information

Chemical Formula:

Ca5H2Si6O18•6H2O

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 767.00 gm

Calcium 26.13 % Ca 36.56 % CaO

Silicon 21.97 % Si 47.00 % SiO₂

Hydrogen 1.84 % H 16.44 % H₂O

Oxygen 50.06 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 100.00 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Ca₅H₂Si₆O₁₈•6(H₂O)

Environment:

Deposited in thermal waters on brick and mortor of an old Roman aqueduct at Ballycraigy, Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

IMA Status:

Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1858

Locality:

Plombiees, Vosges, France. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named for the locality. Redefined in 1954.

Name Pronunciation:

Plombierite + Pronunciation

Synonym:

Tobermorite-14Ang

Plombierite Image

Images:

Plombierite

Comments: Whitish chalky massive, somewhat fibrous plombierite, in vesuvianite.
Location: Crestmore Quarry, Riverside County, California, USA. Scale: See Photo.
© Jeff Weissman / Photographic Guide to Mineral Species

Plombierite Crystallography

Axial Ratios:

a:b:c =0.907:1:3.7692

Cell Dimensions:

a = 6.735, b = 7.425, c = 27.987, Z = 2; beta = 123.25° V = 1,170.43 Den(Calc)= 2.18

Crystal System:

Monoclinic - Sphenoidal H-M Symbol (2) Space Group: B11b

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

By Intensity(I/I_o): 1.83(1), 2.81(1), 3.09(1),

Physical Properties of Plombierite

Color:

White.

Density:

2.018

Diaphaneity:

Translucent

Habit:

Amorphous - No crystalline form or imitative shape.

Habit:

Massive - Uniformly indistinguishable crystals forming large masses.

Luminescence:

Phosphorescent fluorescent, Short UV=yellow cream-white, Long UV=yellow cream-white.

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Plombierite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= -0.183 (Poor) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= -0.095 (Poor) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.2523,KPDmeas= 0.2725,KC= 0.2304
Ncalc = 1.47 - 1.5

Optical Data:

Biaxial (?), b=1.55

Pleochroism (x):

colorless.

Pleochroism (y):

colorless.

Pleochroism (z):

colorless.

Calculated Properties of Plombierite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=2.22 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Plombierite =2.18 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.01
Boson Index = 0.99

Photoelectric:

PE_Plombierite= 4.03 barns/electron
U=PE_Plombierite x rElectron Density= 8.94 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 0 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Plombierite is Not Radioactive

Plombierite Classification

Dana Class:

72.03.02.03 (72)Phyllosilicate Two-Dimensional Infinite Sheets with Other Than Six-Membered Rings

(72.03)with 3-, 4-, or 5-membered rings and 8-membered rings

(72.03.02)Tobermorite group (5- & 8-membered rings)

72.03.02.01 Tobermorite Ca5Si6O16(OH)2•4(H2O) C 222₁ 2 2 2

72.03.02.02 Clinotobermorite Ca5Si6(O,OH)18•5(H2O) Cc,C 2/c Mono

72.03.02.03 Plombierite Ca5H2Si6O18•6H2O B11b 2

72.03.02.04 Riversideite Ca5Si6O16(OH)2•2(H2O) B2212 2 2 2

72.03.02.05 Okenite Ca3[Si6O15]•6(H2O) P1 or P1 Tri

72.03.02.06 Tacharanite Ca12Al2Si18O33(OH)36 A centered Mono

72.03.02.07 Nekoite Ca3Si6O15•7(H2O) P1 1

72.03.02.08 Oyelite Ca10B2Si8O29•12(H2O) B**** Ortho

Strunz Class:

09.DG.008. 09 - SILICATES (Germanates)

09.D - Inosilicates* Structural terminology according to Liebau (1985)

09.DG -Inosilicates with 3-periodic single and multiple chains

09.DG.008. Plombierite Ca5H2Si6O18•6H2O B11b 2

Other Plombierite Information

References:

NAME( Dana8) PHYS. PROP.(AmMin, v90, p1951) OPTIC PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Plombierite :
1 - Am. Min. Crystal Structure Database
2 - Athena
3 - EUROmin Project
4 - Ecole des Mines de Paris
5 - GeoScienceWorld
6 - Google Images
7 - Google Scholar
8 - Handbook of Mineralogy (MinSocAm)
9 - Handbook of Mineralogy (UofA)
10 - MinDAT
11 - Mineralienatlas (Deutsch)
12 - Online Mineral Museum
13 - QUT Mineral Atlas
14 - Ruff.Info

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Print or Cut-and-Paste your Plombierite Specimen Label here :

Plombierite

Ca5H2Si6O18•6H2O
Dana No: 72.03.02.03 Strunz No: 09.DG.008.
Locality:

Notes:

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