Pollucite Mineral Data

General Pollucite Information

Chemical Formula:

(Cs,Na)2Al2Si4O12•(H2O)

Composition:

Molecular Weight = 285.03 gm

Cesium 27.98 % Cs 29.66 % Cs₂O

Rubidium 1.20 % Rb 1.31 % Rb₂O

Sodium 1.61 % Na 2.17 % Na₂O

Aluminum 8.52 % Al 16.10 % Al₂O₃

Silicon 20.69 % Si 44.27 % SiO₂

Hydrogen 0.71 % H 6.32 % H₂O

Oxygen 39.29 % O

______ ______

100.00 % 99.83 % = TOTAL OXIDE

Empirical Formula:

Cs_0.6Na_0.2Rb_0.04Al_0.9Si_2.1O₆•(H₂O)

Environment:

Lithium-rich granitic pegmatites. Forms a series with analcime.

IMA Status:

Valid Species (Pre-IMA) 1846

Locality:

Elba, Italy Link to MinDat.org Location Data.

Name Origin:

Named after Pollux, a figure from Greek mythology, brother of Castor, for its common association with "castorite" (petalite).

Name Pronunciation:

Pollucite + Pronunciation

Synonym:

ICSD 39895

PDF 25-194

Pollucite Image

Images:

Pollucite

Comments: Isometric crystal of pollucite with clear quartz and sucrosic albite matrix.
Location: Shigar mine, Dossu, Skardu, Pakistan. Scale: 14.6x10x11.5 cm.
© Fabre Minerals

Pollucite Crystallography

Cell Dimensions:

a = 13.682, Z = 16; V = 2,561.23 Den(Calc)= 2.96

Crystal System:

Isometric - Hexoctahedral H-M Symbol (4/m 3 2/m) Space Group: I a3d

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

By Intensity(I/I_o): 2.907(1), 3.421(1), 3.652(0.8),

Physical Properties of Pollucite

Cleavage:

None

Color:

Colorless, White, Gray, Pale pink, Blue.

Density:

2.9

Diaphaneity:

Transparent

Fracture:

Brittle - Uneven - Very brittle fracture producing uneven fragments.

Habit:

Massive - Uniformly indistinguishable crystals forming large masses.

Hardness:

6.5 - Pyrite

Luminescence:

Fluorescent, Short UV=cream white blue green, Long UV=weak orange.

Luster:

Vitreous - Dull

Magnetism:

Nonmagnetic

Streak:

white

Optical Properties of Pollucite

Gladstone-Dale:

CI meas= 0.046 (Good) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)
CI calc= 0.066 (Fair) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)
KPDcalc= 0.1757,KPDmeas= 0.1793,KC= 0.188
Ncalc = 1.55 - 1.56

Optical Data:

Isotropic, n=1.52.

Calculated Properties of Pollucite

Electron Density:

Bulk Density (Electron Density)=2.76 gm/cc
note: Specific Gravity of Pollucite =2.90 gm/cc.

Fermion Index:

Fermion Index = 0.0098528604
Boson Index = 0.9901471396

Photoelectric:

PE_Pollucite= 114.28 barns/electron
U=PE_Pollucite x r_electron= 315.74 barns/cc.

Radioactivity:

GRapi = 484.85 (Gamma Ray American Petroleum Institute Units)
Concentration of Pollucite per GRapi unit = 0.21 (%)

Estimated Radioactivity from Pollucite - barely detectable

Pollucite Classification

Dana Class:

77.01.01.02 (77)Tectosilicate Zeolite group

(77.01)true zeolites

(77.01.01)Analcime and related species

77.01.01.01 Analcime NaAlSi2O6•(H2O) P1 1

77.01.01.02 Pollucite (Cs,Na)2Al2Si4O12•(H2O) I a3d 4/m 3 2/m

77.01.01.03 Wairakite CaAl2Si4O12•2(H2O) I2/a 2/m

77.01.01.04 Laumontite CaAl2Si4O12•4(H2O) C 2/m 2/m

77.01.01.05 Hsianghualite Ca3Li2Be3(SiO4)3F2 I 2₁3 2 3

Strunz Class:

09.GB.05 09 - SILICATES (Germanates)

09.G - Tektosilicates with Zeolitic H2O

09.GB -Chains of single connected 4-membered rings

09.GB.05 Ammonioleucite (NH4,K)AlSi2O6 I 4₁/a 4/m

09.GB.05 Analcime NaAlSi2O6•(H2O) P1 1

09.GB.05 Hsianghualite Ca3Li2Be3(SiO4)3F2 I 2₁3 2 3

09.GB.05 Lithosite K6Al4Si8O25•(H2O) P 2₁ (pseudo ORTH) 2

09.GB.05 Leucite KAlSi2O6 I 4₁/a 4/m

09.GB.05 Pollucite (Cs,Na)2Al2Si4O12•(H2O) I a3d 4/m 3 2/m

09.GB.05 Wairakite CaAl2Si4O12•2(H2O) I2/a 2/m

Other Pollucite Information

References:

NAME( AntBidBlaNic2) PHYS. PROP.(Collectors Book of Fluorescent Minerals) OPTIC PROP.(Enc. of Minerals,2nd ed.,1990)

See Also:

Links to other databases for Pollucite :
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
15 - Scandinavian mineral gallery
16 - WWW-MINCRYST

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Pollucite

(Cs,Na)2Al2Si4O12•(H2O)
Dana No: 77.01.01.02 Strunz No: 09.GB.05
Locality:

Notes:

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