Terlinguaite

Terlinguaite is the naturally occurring mineral with formula Hg2ClO. It is formed by the weathering of other mercury-containing minerals. It was discovered in 1900 in the Terlingua District of Brewster County, Texas, for which it is named.[4] Its color is yellow, greenish yellow, brown, or olive green.

Terlinguaite
Terlinguaite, collected from Mariposa Mine, Terlingua District, Brewster County, Texas, United States
General
CategoryHalide mineral
Formula
(repeating unit)
Hg2ClO
Strunz classification3.DD.20
Crystal systemMonoclinic
Crystal classPrismatic (2/m)
(same H-M symbol)
Space groupC2/c
Unit cella = 19.51 Å, b = 5.91 Å
c = 9.47 Å; β = 143.81°; Z = 4
Identification
ColorSulfur-yellow, greenish yellow, brown
Crystal habitAggregates of equant to elongated crystals, powdery, massive
CleavagePerfect on [101]
TenacityBrittle
Mohs scale hardness2.5
LusterBrilliant adamantine
StreakLemon-yellow, turning olive-green
DiaphaneityTransparent to translucent
Specific gravity9.22
Optical propertiesBiaxial (-)
Refractive indexnα = 2.350 nβ = 2.640 nγ = 2.660
Birefringenceδ = 0.310
PleochroismWeak, green and yellow
2V angleMeasured: 20°
Alters toturns olive-green on exposure to light
References[1][2][3]

References

  1. Handbook of Mineralogy
  2. Mindat.org
  3. Webmineral data
  4. Hillebrand, W. F.; W. T. Schaller (1907). "Art. XXVI. "The Mercury Minerals from Terlingua, Texas: Kleinite, Terlinguaite, Eglestonite, Montroydite, Calomel, Mercury"". The American Journal of Science (139): 259–274. Retrieved 2009-05-21.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.