Feldspar Feldspar crystal (18×21×8.5 cm) from Jequitinhonha valley, Minas Gerais, Southeastern Brazil. General Category tectosilicate Formula (repeating unit) KAlSi3O8 – NaAlSi3O8 – CaAl2Si2O8 Identification Color pink, white, gray, brown Crystal system triclinic or monoclinic Twinning tartan, carlsbad, etc Cleavage two or three Fracture along cleavage planes Mohs scale hardness 6.0-6.5 Luster Vitreous Streak white Diaphaneity opaque Specific gravity 2.55 - 2.76 Density 2.56 Refractive index 1.518-1.526 Birefringence first order Pleochroism none Other characteristics exsolution lamellae common References [1] Compositional phase diagram of the different minerals that constitute the feldspar solid solution.

Feldspars (KAlSi₃O₈ – NaAlSi₃O₈ – CaAl₂Si₂O₈) are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals that make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust.^[2]

Feldspars crystallize from magma in both intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks, as veins, and are also present in many types of metamorphic rock.^[3] Rock formed almost entirely of calcic plagioclase feldspar (see below) is known as anorthosite.^[4] Feldspars are also found in many types of sedimentary rock.^[5]

Etymology [edit]

The name feldspar derives from the German words Feld, "field", and Spath, "a rock that does not contain ore." "Feldspathic" refers to materials that contain feldspar. The alternate spelling, felspar, has largely fallen out of use.^[6]

Compositions [edit]

This group of minerals consists of framework tectosilicates. Compositions of major elements in common feldspars can be expressed in terms of three endmembers:

Potassium-Feldspar (K-spar) endmember KAlSi₃O₈^[2]

Albite endmember NaAlSi₃O₈^[2]

Anorthite endmember CaAl₂Si₂O₈^[2]

Solid solutions between K-feldspar and albite are called alkali feldspar.^[2] Solid solutions between albite and anorthite are called plagioclase,^[2] 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 the result of the replacement of potassium feldspar.

Alkali feldspars [edit]

The alkali feldspars are as follows:

• orthoclase (monoclinic),^[7] — KAlSi₃O₈
• sanidine (monoclinic)^[8] —(K,Na)AlSi₃O₈
• microcline (triclinic)^[9] — KAlSi₃O₈
• anorthoclase (triclinic) — (Na,K)AlSi₃O₈

Sanidine is stable at the highest temperatures, and microcline at the lowest.^[7][8] 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.^[10] Microperthitic textures in crystals are visible using a light microscope, whereas cryptoperthitic textures can be seen only with an electron microscope.

Plagioclase feldspars [edit]

The plagioclase feldspars are triclinic. The plagioclase series follows (with percent anorthite in parentheses):

• albite (0 to 10) — NaAlSi₃O₈
• oligoclase (10 to 30) — (Na,Ca)(Al,Si)AlSi₂O₈
• andesine (30 to 50) — NaAlSi₃O₈ — CaAl₂Si₂O₈
• labradorite (50 to 70) — (Ca,Na)Al(Al,Si)Si₂O₈
• bytownite (70 to 90) — (NaSi,CaAl)AlSi₂O₈
• anorthite (90 to 100) — CaAl₂Si₂O₈

First X-ray view of Martian soil - feldspar, pyroxenes, olivine revealed (Curiosity rover at "Rocknest", October 17, 2012).^[11]

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 solutions are complex compared to the gap in the alkali feldspars. The play of colours visible in some feldspar of labradorite composition is due to very fine-grained exsolution lamellae.

Barium feldspars [edit]

The barium feldspars are monoclinic and comprise the following:

• celsian — BaAl₂Si₂O₈
• hyalophane — (K,Na,Ba)(Al,Si)₄O₈

Feldspars can form clay minerals through chemical weathering.^[12]

Feldspar output in 2005.

Production and uses [edit]

Lunar ferrous anorthosite #60025 (plagioclase feldspar). Collected by Apollo 16 from the Lunar Highlands near Descartes Crater. This sample is currently on display at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C..

Labradorite.

About 20 million tonnes of feldspar was produced in 2010, mostly by three countries: Italy (4.7 Mt), Turkey (4.5 Mt), and China (2 Mt).^[13]

Feldspar is a common raw material used in glassmaking, ceramics, and to some extent as a filler and extender in paint, plastics, and rubber. In glassmaking, alumina from feldspar improves product hardness, durability, and resistance to chemical corrosion. In ceramics, the alkalis in feldspar (calcium oxide, potassium oxide, and sodium oxide) act as a flux, lowering the melting temperature of a mixture. Fluxes melt at an early stage in the firing process, forming a glassy matrix that bonds the other components of the system together. In the US, about 66% of feldspar is consumed in glassmaking, including glass containers and glass fiber. Pottery (including electrical insulators, sanitaryware, tableware, and tile) and other uses, such as fillers, accounted for the remainder.^[14]

In earth sciences and archaeology, feldspars are used for K-Ar dating, argon-argon dating, thermoluminescence dating and optical dating.

In October 2012, the Mars Curiosity rover analyzed a rock that turned out to have a high feldspar content.^[15]

See also [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Feldspar

• List of minerals
• List of countries by feldspar production

References [edit]

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Geological Survey document: "Feldspar and nepheline syenite". 

Further reading [edit]

• Bonewitz, Ronald Louis. (2005). Rock and Gem, New York: DK Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7566-3342-4